Come to Taunt Me
by Mikauzoran
Summary: When Kid begins to visit Hakuba and Conan, the two grow fond of the thief, but sparks fly when they find they're not the only detective in his life. Can they work together to protect the one they cherish?
1. Of Kaitous and Coffee

Mikau: Pleased to meet you! I'm Mikau. This is my first dcmk fanfic, but I'm no stranger to writing. That's not to say that I'm a good writer, but I try hard. If you enjoy it, that's good enough for me. Please let me know what you think, 'cause I'm always looking to improve.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Kaito would have found Pandora by now. Well, at least Aoyama-sensei is working on it again, right?

…...

Of Kaitous and Coffee

"Come to taunt me, have you?" the shrunken detective sighed, sipping his coffee.

"No. Just to talk." The kaitou smirked, hiding behind the mask of a high school girl.

They were sitting in a booth by the window of Poirot, the café below the Mori Detective Agency, drinking coffee—black—and hot chocolate respectively.

After that night's heist, the phantom thief had dropped by the Moris', making sure that the mini sleuth caught sight of him before disappearing like…well, a phantom.

Conan had flown out the door to give chase, only to find a mysterious young girl in a sailor uniform hanging around the entrance to the stairs leading up to the apartment.

She had smiled and said, "Care to join me for a cup of coffee, Tantei-kun?"

The bespectacled boy had taken the bait, and thus, they were sitting across from one another, drinking their beverages of choice.

The small detective sighed, tired from his night of epic failure. "And what did you want to talk about? The weather?"

Kid ignored the quip and stared at that the boy—through him—with those electric green eyes—probably contacts. "What happened tonight? I've never seen you so off your game before."

"Can't I just have an off night every once in a while?" Conan gave up on mentally picking apart the elements of Kid's disguise and instead focused on the design on his mug.

Kid snorted, the sound rather unattractive coming from the lady he appeared to be. "'Off night?' You fell for every one of my tricks and traps. That's fine for the taskforce, but I expect more from my detectives. So spill. What's on your mind?"

Conan was silent for a long time, just staring into his cup at the quickly cooling liquid.

The thief waited and was finally rewarded for his patience.

"I messed up the other day," the older boy whispered. "I hesitated because the suspect took Ran hostage, and he got away. I hesitated, and he got away and killed himself."

"That's not your fault, you know." Kid had come assuming that the other boy had had some quarrel with his girlfriend over his true identity. Unfortunately, it seemed the situation was far worse than expected.

"It's my job—dammit—to put people like that behind bars. He should be in a jail cell, not in a coffin. If I hadn't hesitated, I could have done something to stop him," the young gumshoe seethed. "There's no point if the criminal dies."

"You really shouldn't blame yourself for other people's actions, Tantei-kun," the phantom replied quietly after some thought. "I know it's hard seeing someone die in front of you, and I know it's difficult not to think 'I could have done something,' but, really, your psychological anguish over the matter doesn't do anyone any good. You should move on and focus on the good you can do. Better to face forward than to keep looking back."

Conan blinked. He hadn't expected to be given a pep-talk by the Kaitou Kid of all people. "Un." He nodded.

"Good. So next heist, I expect a challenge from you." And then the man was gone. Simply gone having left two thousand-yen notes on the table to foot the bill.

Conan scowled, knitting his eyebrows together.

Something was wrong with the world.

The Kaitou freaking Kid had just given him a pep talk and treated him to coffee.

…

)("8")(

Mikau: It was supposed to be a fish, but my brother says that it looks like the robot from the Jetsons. Please let me know what you think (not about the fish robot. Well, you can, but I care more about what you think about the chapter); I'm going to go work on my emot fish. Thanks for reading.


	2. Super Epic Giga Nova Fail

Mikau: Hello again! Thank you so much for coming back. I'm posting the first three chapters tonight since I'm reasonably satisfied with them. Incidentally, today (Feb 3rd) is Setsubun here in Japan. Unfortunately, I have no children to throw beans at demons for me, so I did it myself, and I felt a little silly. (If you are confused, please google setsubun.) I also ate an entire gigantic sushi roll, and it was delicious. Please enjoy Hakuba's misery.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Hakuba would show up more often. He still hasn't even appeared in the Magic Kaito specials. I'm displeased.

…...

Super-Epic-Giga-Nova Fail

Hakuba Saguru sighed as he gazed at his reflection in the mirror.

He had washed his hair sixteen bloody times with ten different varieties of products, and it was still as green as the river in Chicago on Saint Patty's Day.

In all honesty, the last heist had been what Keiko-san would call a 'super-epic-giga-nova fail.' Not only had the entire taskforce been covered in super glue and glitter, but Edogawa-kun had also managed to set off an obvious trap that had dowsed the smaller detective in pink paint and the British one in green hair dye. And that had only been the start of the evening.

Usually the Englishman considered his youngest coworker pretty much on-par with himself, but the other night…well…'super-epic-giga-nova fail' summed it up quite nicely.

After one last look in the mirror, Saguru gave up and got dressed before heading to the dining room.

Baaya looked at him funny as she set down his breakfast.

"Please don't ask," the detective mumbled, mentally preparing himself for the open gawking of his peers and Kuroba's abuse.

He went to school and paused before opening the door to his classroom.

From inside he could hear Keiko-san chatting loudly with her friends. "…and it was the funniest thing! The glitter was my favorite part. Super-epic-giga-nova fail on the part of the taskforce—no offense to your dad, Aoko-chan. We all know he tries real hard."

Hakuba sighed, sliding open the door.

The room went silent, and he took the long walk of shame to his desk.

He did his best not to make eye contact, and when he sat down, the murmur of the other students picked back up again.

No one bothered asking questions, and Saguru silently thanked whoever was listening up there.

Unfortunately his luck ran out as the hateful Kuroba Kaito made his entrance and came bounding up to his rival's desk. The magician opened his mouth to say something vicious, but he stopped when he noticed that the former blonde was flinching almost imperceptibly.

His body was tense, his gaze was cast downward, and his lip was going to bleed if he bit it any harder.

It wasn't hard to deduce that Hakuba felt like fecal matter at the moment, so the trickster let him off the hook.

"You know, you could try using lemon juice," Kaito suggested, patting the detective on the head and walking off.

And that—receiving kindness when he had expected only spite—confused Saguru more than anything Kaito had ever done before—except for maybe the incident with the cotton candy and the alien squid people, but no one talked about that. Regardless, the teenage sleuth found himself blushing.

…...

^(^.^)=O

Mikau: This is Detective Kara. She is on the case! That's a magnifying glass, in case you were wondering. My brother says that it looks like a bubble wand. It could also be a tennis racket. Hmm. Well, it's seven o'clock on a Friday; time to watch Doraemon. Please let me know what you think. Just don't insult the Detective Kara emot. I'm a little sensitive about it. Thanks for reading.


	3. Adrenaline Junkies and Coffee Addicts

Mikau: Greetings! Thanks so much for joining me again. For this fic, I'm going to try to keep the chapters short. I'm aiming for 500-1500 words per chapter; we'll see how long I can keep it up. I'm used to writing gigantic epics. Also, for anyone who didn't assume from the summary, this is going to be ConanxKaito KaitoxHakuba shounen-ai. Nothing graphic, but if you don't like boys flirting, this probably isn't the fic for you. For the rest of you, I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Ran wouldn't _**still**_ be waiting for Shinichi to return after fifteen years. Talk about dedication. I would have given up on him after maybe one or two, but FIFTEEN?

….

Adrenaline Junkies and Coffee Addicts

Kaito was excited for his next heist. The last one, while amusing in some respects, had turned out to be a total flop. He'd gotten away without breaking a sweat while his would-be pursuers tripped over themselves and each other. No one had chased him. _This_ heist would be better.

Tantei-kun would be in top form, and the rest would be eager for revenge.

Glitter did tend to get _everywhere_, after all.

He chuckled to himself, fitting the cape to his shoulders and then checking to make sure everything was in place.

Kaito smiled at his reflection in the mirror. Perfect.

He stepped out into the night, and the magician became the thief—who then became a cop as soon as he arrived on the scene in order to blend in with the taskforce.

Kid took the place of the young officer Morimoto and began to assist in setting up the barrier to keep his crazy fans back. He smiled as he noticed Keiko-chan and Aoko in the crowd.

The pigtailed girl was jumping up and down squealing—typical fangirl—while her best friend was waving an anti-Kid sign, screaming just as loudly.

The thief got into position as the countdown started, letting the smokescreen capsules drop when the second hand of his watch kissed the twelve. He made his way through the haze, grabbing the gem and perching on top of the case to gloat as shouts and curses flew about the room in all of the confusion.

"Excuse me, but I believe I'll be taking this off of your hands," Kid announced, and the chase began.

The taskforce and Nakamori-keibu were lost early on in the game, distracted by illusions, traps, and Kid dummies, but the Holmes freaks were hot on his tail. That was, until a stray tranquilizer dart got Hakuba instead of its intended target.

Conan cursed, hurdling over Saguru's body and continuing his pursuit.

Unfortunately for the boy detective, the kaitou had longer legs and was easily able to outrun his pesky rival. Kid dodged Gadget Boy's soccer-ball-o-doom and played to the crowd below for the better half of a minute. He allowed the smaller boy to catch up a bit before jumping off of the roof, sailing into the night as his fans cheered.

Our shrunken hero cursed loudly as he just missed grabbing the Kid's cape by an inch.

The damn thief had let Conan catch up on purpose just so that it would be all the more frustrating when the Moonlight Magician got away by a hair.

The pint-sized detective growled as he watched the white dot fade into the distance. He then went home to stew after alerting the other officers to Detective Hakuba's condition.

When Conan got close to the detective agency, he noticed what appeared to be a prostitute standing by the entrance.

"Hey cutie," the redhead called as he got closer. "How about we grab a cup of coffee together."

"I'm sorry, Oniisan, but my parents told me never to talk to strangers," Conan replied innocently. It was a lie, of course—neither Shinichi or Conan's parents had ever thought to give their son that warning—but the little detective didn't have the patience to deal with any more nonsense in one night.

"Do you always do what your parents tell you, Tantei-kun?" Kid chuckled, adjusting his mesh shirt so that it showed off more of his neck.

As if Conan needed to see more skin. The shirt was already mostly see-through. "No. Now go away."

"Aww, come on," the kaitou pouted, stepping into the small brunette's way. "I'll even let you put me in handcuffs. How's that sound?"

"Go away before I call the police and have you arrested," the shrimp snapped.

"On what charges?" Kid chuckled, smiling manically. "You have no proof that I've done anything illegal."

"Oh really?" Conan snorted. "Suspicion of prostitution and propositioning a minor should be enough to hold you overnight."

The redhead began to visibly sulk. "Man, Kudo. It's just a cup of coffee; lighten up." Kid stepped out of Conan's path and started to walk away.

"Wait!" someone called. It took the shrunken sleuth a minute to realize that it had been his own voice.

The thief-turned-clubber looked back over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"I…used to drink three cups of coffee a day before…you know. Now Ran won't let me have any because she says that it'll stunt my growth, so…" Conan looked pleadingly at his rival.

Kid smirked. "I suppose I could buy you some out of the goodness of my heart."

000

"Why did you come tonight?" The boy wearing glasses much too big for his face hesitantly asked as he got his java fix.

"I have a shota-complex." Kid grinned.

Conan nearly spit the precious liquid back into his cup as his cheeks went vermillion.

"Mom's new boyfriend is over for dinner, and I don't want to meet him," the mischievous teen revised.

"How old are you? Ten?" The grade-schooler rolled his eyes. "Don't you have any friends you can go bother?"

"Ironic," Kid hummed thoughtfully. "I never claimed that I wasn't childish, but, unfortunately, all those that I consider friends would not be happy to see me at the moment."

Aoko would still be fuming over her father's recent failure and embarrassment, and, as sad as it was to admit, Kaito didn't have anyone else. Sure, he was friendly with most everyone in his class, but those were superficial relationships. There was no one he could go to with his problems.

Conan raised an eyebrow at the exotic teen across the table, but he let the comment go. For some reason, it seemed the wrong time to pry. Instead he said, "So…I didn't get a chance to thank you for the other night. I was feeling pretty down, and you really helped me out." He blushed as he rambled slightly, finally finding the words he was looking for. "So, uh…thanks."

"No problem," the boy wearing too much eye makeup replied sincerely. "Though, as much as I did it for you, I did it for myself too. You make the heists interesting. Besides, I can't help but feel protective of my detectives."

The bespectacled boy's cheeks turned a slightly rosy color, and he looked down into his coffee mug. He composed himself and raised his head to tell the thief that he had no memory of ever belonging to anyone, but the phantom had disappeared once more.

…

(-^o^-)

Mikau: It's supposed to be Doraemon, but I suppose it could be any old robot cat without ears. I don't think it's half bad. What do you think? (and about the chapter too since we're at it.) On a side note, if anyone cares, I ship KaitoxAnyone/Everyone (except the old people and Kazuha. For some reason, I just don't see KaitoxKazuha working out. They could probably be friends, though.) Also, I haven't eaten dinner yet. Tonight is curry. Over and out! Thanks for reading.


	4. Detective in the Doldrums

Mikau: Hello everyone! Thank you for coming back for another installment of CTM. Also, thank you to Aniki-xvi and ObsessedConanFan for reviewing. I'm happy with chapters four and five, so you guys get two today. Please enjoy more Hakuba torture.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Ran's hair wouldn't be pointy enough to put a person's eye out. Anyone else notice that it gets progressively more pointy? Check out the first volume. It was fine the way it was! Also, Conan's cowlick gets more cowlicky too…

…

Detective in the Doldrums

Hakuba Saguru sighed, looking himself over in the mirror.

What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he catch a single bloody thief? It wasn't even a real thief either.

He was chasing a circus performer, in it for the kicks. Kid wasn't even serious; he was there for the attention. This was all a game for him; Hakuba was the only one taking this seriously.

The blonde sighed again, running a hand through his hair. At least he _was_ blonde again. He'd half expected the lemon juice to have some kind of chemical reaction with the dye, making him look like even more of a fool.

He thanked the higher powers for small miracles and went down for breakfast.

Baaya had made Belgian waffles—one of his favorites. She must have noticed that he was a bit down in the dumps.

It was a monthly cycle really. He'd start the month full of energy and determination to find evidence against Kuroba, catch Kid, and finally earn his father's respect. As the month wore on, he'd find himself growing more and more frustrated by the day. The kaitou remained elusive in both his civilian and professional lives, causing Hakuba pain and humiliation in the classroom and during heists. The final week was the worst as he settled down into despair and depression. After a few days it wore off, and he'd start the next month's cycle all over again.

"Thank you, Baaya." The young detective managed to dredge up a smile for the woman who had been a mother to him.

"Chin up, Bocchama." She returned the grin and patted her surrogate son on the head.

"Ah, Saguru. I was hoping to catch you before you left," a big, burly man said gravely as he entered the room.

"Good morning, Father," the golden-eyed boy replied. "Did you need to speak with me about something?" He hadn't really seen much of the man since he'd moved to Japan, and it was highly irregular for his father to talk to him. Something was up.

The Police Superintendent sighed as he took a seat across the table from his son, a serious look in his eyes. "Saguru, it's about this thief that you've been chasing. You need to either catch him or go home."

"To…England?" Saguru paused with his teacup halfway to his mouth.

"Where else?" His father scoffed. "That's where you belong, isn't it?"

"Yes, Father." The teenager looked down at his plate.

Truthfully, he didn't really belong anywhere. Wherever he went he either looked too Asian or too Caucasian. He didn't fit in well in either country, but he had always considered both 'home' for lack of any other place. Did his father just think of him as a guest? Was this not his home?

"Saguru, people used to respect you, you know. Now you're just a laughingstock. That thief makes you look like a fool. How do you expect to get a job with the police force like that? You used to be a great detective, but now that thief has gone and tarnished your name. You've got two weeks; either catch him or go back home to solve murders. Do we understand each other?"

The blonde blinked, staring blankly at his father. "T-two weeks?"

"Yes. You've spent more than enough time fooling around here. It's time to get serious. Are we clear, Saguru?"

As if he hadn't been serious then entire time.

"I…I don't want to solve murders anymore," he replied, head reeling, making it hard to come up with anything else to say.

The officer snorted. "Really? So you just want to waste your life away and end up like Nakamori? Is that it? Tell me, Saguru, if you don't want to solve murders, want do you want to do? Do you have some hidden talent that I'm not aware of? What else are you good at?"

Saguru was silent.

"That's what I thought." His father stood and clapped him on the back. "Two weeks."

000

"So…catch yourself a thief last night?" Kaito chuckled as Hakuba entered the classroom.

Saguru didn't bother replying. He really didn't need the magician's heckling at the moment.

"You should probably just give up at this point, you know?" Kuroba continued, oblivious to his classmate's mental and emotional stress.

'_Don't reply. He'll stop if you ignore him.'_

"I'm actually surprised that you've still got a job," the playful teen snickered. "I would have sacked you by now. Though, I guess you're a good fit for the taskforce. You're all utterly useless."

Saguru bit his lip to hold back the tears. _'Don't give him the satisfaction.'_

"Hey, maybe you all should consider joining the circus. You could be clowns. It's a thought, right? I mean, since no one would hire a detective as lousy as you."

He closed his eyes as they began to sting. Why did Kuroba have to rub salt in the wounds his father had just inflicted not even a half-hour before?

"You're so bad, you couldn't even find a—"

"—S-stop," Hakuba responded in a small voice. "Please, stop."

Kaito blinked and turned to actually look at the detective.

The blonde's eyes were screwed shut and tears were streaming down his cheeks. His hands gripped the edge of his desk as if he were holding on to a building's ledge.

It was a pitiful sight, really.

"Are…you okay, Hakuba?" The magician blinked, thinking, _'Did I do that?'_

"Excuse me." The Englishman grabbed his things and bolted from the room. He went up to the roof for a bit so that no one would see him crying before he headed home for the day.

He was determined to spend his last two weeks in Japan in bed.

…

**_l:::::l_**

**/\**** (**O_**^)**

Mikau: It's my masterpiece. If you can't tell who it's supposed to be, don't tell me; I'll cry. Also, while you all have your first volume of Conan out, looking at the progression of hairstyles, can someone do me a favor? I only have my Japanese copy with me (mostly because I don't own it in English, but…), so I can't check myself. In the first volume on page sixty where Conan tells Ran his name, on the lower right-hand part of the bookshelf, above "Road to Oz," in the Japanese version there's a copy of volume one of Magic Kaito. Is it still there in the English version? I have to know. Please tell me? (Commenting upon the chapter is optional, but I've just go to know what became of that book!) Thank you so much for reading.


	5. Handcuffs and Roses

Mikau: Hello and welcome! Four more hours left until the new episode of Detective Conan! I hope they do another Kaitou Kid special soon…preferably one with the obnoxious blonde (I mean obnoxious in the most endearing way possible). And now for more Hakuba. I really shouldn't pick on the guy so much.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the Black Organization members would probably have flower codenames. I like the symbolism attached to flowers. Yellow roses mean friendship, by the way.

…

Handcuffs and Roses

Kaito was unhappy.

Something was seriously wrong with one of his detectives.

Usually Hakuba was made of tougher stuff than that; he wasn't one to run off crying like a baby just because the magician had teased him a little. Normally the blonde would snort and easily shrug off Kaito's childish taunts.

His strange behavior that morning coupled with the Brit's absence at that night's heist made Kaito suspicious—suspicious enough to sneak into the blonde's bedroom and question his pursuer.

"You stood me up tonight, Tantei-san," Kid stated calmly, a hint of disappointment evident in his words.

Hakuba jumped a foot in the air off of his couch at the sound of the intruder's voice. He picked himself back up off of the floor to stare in shock at his guest, bathed in the moonlight.

"Nice boxers," the thief chuckled, clearing some of the books and half-eaten bags of junk food off of the couch so that he could sit down.

Saguru blinked, grabbing a pair of sweatpants from his chest of drawers to cover his Great Mouse Detective print shorts.

"I always imagined that your room would be more…tidy," Kid hummed, taking a look around the messy little dwelling.

There were books and papers scattered on the desk, couch, bed, and floor, mixed in with potato chip bags and snack wrappers. There may even have been a bowl or two of ice cream in with the mess.

"You…caught me at a bad time." Saguru blushed, beginning to clean up the mess his depression and desperation had made. He'd been frantically brainstorming Kaitou Kid capture methods all day long, and things had gotten a little…disorganized.

"Sorry for dropping in unannounced." Kid raised an eyebrow at the wall Hakuba's bed was up against. It was completely covered with newspaper and magazine articles about the phantom thief. There was also a fair amount of candid photos of Kuroba Kaito as well. "Are you stalking me, Detective?"

"It's called research!" the Brit snapped, going as red as a parrot.

"And are you researching this boy too?" The kaitou chuckled. "Or do you just fancy him?"

"I...what the hell are you doing in my house?" Saguru dropped the papers he had been collecting and grabbed his handcuffs.

"Whoa there." Kid raised his hands in defense and backed up against the sliding glass doors to the balcony. "I don't do kinky, and even if I did, I don't swing that way, Tantei-san."

There was a click, and the cuffs locked over the thief's wrists.

Hakuba stared down at the manacles in confusion. "I caught you."

Kid blinked and easily slipped his hands out, going to sit on the couch again.

Saguru sighed heavily, flopping down on his bed and burying his face in the pillow. "I give up."

"Why?"

"Because I'm never going to catch you," he mumbled, tearing up again. "I'm a lousy detective who should just give up and go join the circus…though, I probably couldn't even be a good clown. I'm never going to be able to prove that you're really Kuroba Kaito, and my father is never going to respect me. He's right. I should just go back to solving murders; it's the only thing I'm good for."

Hakuba sighed once again, letting everything sink in. "My father's sending me back to London if I can't catch you within the next two weeks."

Kid blinked, momentarily losing his poker face…not that the detective was looking at him to see the slip. "And…what do you want? Do _you_ want to go back to England?"

"I f-ing hate England. My peers are immature bullies, and no one takes me seriously. The only thing for me in England is the Sherlock Holmes museum and select foods that can't be found in Japan."

"Then…you want to stay here?" Kid pressed quietly.

"I…I f-ing hate Japan too…for pretty much the same reasons." Saguru shook his head, some of his hair sticking to his tear-dampened cheeks. "I honestly don't know what I want. I suppose it doesn't really matter what happens or where I go. It's all the same. I won't be missed either way."

"_I'd_ miss you," the young thief confessed, taking a seat at the foot of the detective's bed. "You have friends here that would miss you too, don't you? What about the boy in the photos and the Inspector's daughter? The taskforce would miss you too. It's not 'all the same.' Your presence here affects people, whether you realize it or not, Detective Hakuba. It'd be different without you."

Saguru blinked, rolling over and really looking at the kaitou.

"So you better make sure you catch me, yeah?" Kid winked at him. "Don't you dare skip another heist, Hakuba. I don't like being stood up." He held out a yellow rose with a smile.

The blonde took it in a daze, and as soon as the flower was in his fingertips, the thief disappeared.

…

^(^.^)-}—

Mikau: Today I bring you Fencing Kara! We'll see how long I can keep this up. I'm running out of ideas for emots. Unless you guys would like to send in requests. So, random note: I discovered a Vocaloid song called Cendrillon that I like. It's kind of a twisted Cinderella story where Cinderella is there to assassinate the prince. Good song. Good video. Only I wanted Len singing instead of Miku. Turns out the version with Len and Kaito singing (called Shota Desuyon) has completely different lyrics. It was a little graphic. My reaction was this: (O.O)? (=O_O=) That's a blush, by the way. Thanks for reading!


	6. Riddles

Mikau: Hey everybody. Thanks for joining me once again. Thanks also to kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. Today we go back to Conan. We also have my first heist note; is it too obvious? Please enjoy anyway.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Conan's short-shorts wouldn't make him into shota fodder.

…

Riddles

This note appeared on Inspector Nakamori's desk the following morning:

_When Selene visits the twins,_

_the ram will find himself blind._

_Will the virgin catch her man_

_before the gem becomes mine?_

_-KID_

"I honestly don't get the last part. Care to explain it to me?" Conan looked expectantly at the buxom woman sitting across the table.

Kid grinned, pearly white teeth standing out in stark contrast against his scarlet lipstick. "Oh, Tantei-kun, it's not fun if I explain everything."

The miniature sleuth rolled his eyes and simply enjoyed his coffee. "So…how are things progressing with your mother, her boyfriend, and yourself?"

"Wonderfully and terribly all at the same time." If the kaitou had had a tail, it would have been twitching in irritation. "She simply adores the bastard; she's so happy it makes me sick."

"You don't want her to be happy?" Conan cocked his head to the side. For someone who worried about other people—strangers—as much as Kid did, that seemed highly unlikely.

The thief sighed, resting his overflowing chest on the table. "I…love my mother very much, and I want her to be happy; it's just…I already have a father. I don't need another one, and when she says that I need a positive male role model in my life…"

"Why don't you go live with your father then?" The young detective suggested.

Kid bit his lip to keep his poker face from slipping. "My father…my parents aren't divorced."

Conan blinked, rolling the information around in his head before his eyes went wide, his mouth making a little 'o.' "I'm sorry."

Kid shook his head, long, brown banana curls slipping into his face. "Besides, even if my real father isn't around anymore, I've still got Nakamori-keibu. He's a positive role model if I've ever met one."

The shorter boy deadpanned. "And so…why are you a thief then?"

"That's for you to figure out." Kid gave his rival a slanted grin. "I have my reasons. Now, let's talk about you. What are you learning in school?"

Conan sighed. "We're doing multiplication and division. I think I'm going to snap one of these days and shoot somebody."

The kaitou couldn't contain his laughter. "Man. I'm really sorry. I can practically see your brain leaking out of your ears."

"I feel it liquefying more and more with every passing day." Somehow the shrunken Heisei Holmes was able to chuckle as well. The Kid's laugh was infectious. "What about your class?"

"We're…" Kaito mentally kicked himself. "You're tricky, you know that?"

Conan blinked. "What do you mean?" Had he missed something?

Kid blinked. "So…that wasn't a trap to gather clues about my true identity?"

"Oh. Sorry." The little detective rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I didn't realize…sorry. Right. No personal questions."

Now Kid was confused. "You…were just making conversation?"

"Yeah." Conan shrugged. "To be honest, I really don't care who you are under there."

"Why not?" This was absolutely baffling for the kaitou.

"Because it doesn't matter," the blue-eyed boy replied truthfully. "You're not a _real_ criminal, after all. It really doesn't matter if you get caught or not. In all honesty, I'd rather you didn't."

The poker face was gone at this point, leaving Kaito staring in plain confusion at his companion.

"Don't make fun of me, but you keep me sane, Kid. My life right now is honestly hell. I spend every day lying to the ones I care about, worrying that everyone I love will get killed because of me, and dealing with senseless violence and murder. I enjoy the mental puzzles, but that doesn't change the fact that someone is dead at the end of the day. There are very few things left in my life that I enjoy, and your heists are one of them."

Conan looked down into his coffee cup in embarrassment. "I like the fact that no one ever gets hurt. You make sure everyone is safe. I can relax while I'm there and concentrate only on solving the riddle that is you. Your heists are my escape."

"I'm glad that someone else seems to enjoy them as much as I do," Kid chuckled, smiling brightly. "I mean, I can't say that it's all fun and games; I do have a job to do, but…I enjoy the mental challenge and the adrenaline rush."

"Do you think…that you could maybe give me a clue as to your motives? If it's not just a game to stave off the boredom for you, why do you do it?" Conan asked and then waited silently, seeing if his companion would answer.

"I started out doing it for my father, but now…I'm doing it to protect."

"'Protect?'" the gumshoe echoed.

"Yes. Protect." And then Kaito changed the subject. "I honestly don't really know what we're working on in class right now. I sleep and practice magic tricks most of the time, so I don't really pay attention."

"And…how do you do your homework if you don't pay attention?" Conan smiled and went with it, secretly proud to have earned the thief's trust.

"A friend tells me what the homework is, and I just do it. It's never very hard—especially the math and science; I do more difficult things getting ready for heists and building my gadgets. History and Literature are easy because you can just skim the textbook for the answers, so English is really the only difficult subject for me. I have to pay attention in English. We're doing transitive and intransitive verbs at the moment, and I've decided that English is a silly language with silly rules. I like the way it feels on my tongue, though." Kaito started doing tongue twisters.

They traded back and forth in a few different languages until Conan said: "Here's a good one: 'There was a fisherman named Fisher who fished for some fish in a fissure, till a fish with a grin pulled the fisherman in. Now they're fishing the fissure for Fisher.'"

Kaito paled, letting his jaw drop to the floor. "That's terrifying!" he shrieked. "What kind of sick person even comes up with that? I'm going to be having nightmares about f-f-f-finny things pulling me into fissures now. Thanks a lot, Tantei-kun!"

The tiny tantei laughed openly as the international criminal shook in fright. "Not a fan of fish?"

"No," Kaito replied curtly.

"Sorry. I'll keep that in mind," Conan assured.

"Enough of that." The younger teen switched topics again. "I came to ask a favor of you."

The detective nodded. "Oh? And here I thought you came to spend time with me."

"There's that too." The phantom smiled. "It's about this heist." He tapped the note, still on the table in front of his rival. "I've come to ask you not to attend."

"Why?" Conan looked up over his glasses in suspicion at his companion.

Kid bit his lip. "Hakuba's…in a bit of a situation. He's been really down lately, and his father said that he's shipping the poor guy back to the UK if he doesn't catch me sometime in the next two weeks."

"So you're going to let him arrest you?" the smaller boy squeaked.

"I'd do anything for my detectives." Kid shrugged. "Besides, it's not like I have to stay caught. I'll get away as soon as Tantei-san hands me over to be locked up; I just have to let everybody get a good look at me in handcuffs first."

Conan was still gaping like a fi…finny thing. "Kid, that's dangerous. You could actually get exposed and put in jail! Why would you risk that for Hakuba, of all people?"

"Because I'm madly in love with him," the thief replied straight-faced.

The great detective's brain broke. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I can't get enough of that sandy blonde hair and those gorgeous tawny eyes," Kid chuckled a girlish laugh befitting of the face he was currently wearing.

"Are you serious?" Conan asked again.

"No." Kaito laughed like a hyena. "I feel for the guy. He can be a pain in the you-know-where sometimes, but he's really hurting inside. I didn't realize it until I saw him crying the other day, but he's got issues just like the rest of us. I want to help him; I want to be his friend, but in order to do that, he has to stay in the country—hence my catch and release plan."

Conan nodded. "You're a good guy under that annoying façade, aren't you?"

"I try, Tantei-kun." The kaitou shrugged. "So…could you do me the favor of not attending my heist? I'll have enough on my plate for the night without having to try to deal with you too. Honestly, I'm kind of nervous."

"Don't worry. I'll sit this one out; just make sure you get away so that I get another shot at you. I'll never forgive you if you actually get busted." The miniature sleuth put two thousand yen down on the table, gave the thief a smart salute, and made his way to the door.

"Deal," Kaito chuckled, smiling to himself.

He'd made a new friend.

…

o(^ v){

Mikau: It's my new and improved fish in honor of Kaito. I got that tongue twister by googling: "English tongue twisters". I was actually looking for the one from Mikado, but this one was so perfect that I had to use it. Incidentally, if you take off the 'o' that is the fish's mouth, my brother says that it looks like a side view of a Boo with a propeller. Thanks for reading; please send in your feedback, if you are so inclined. I'd especially like to know what was funny and what was lame. Thanks for your time.


	7. Catch and Release

Mikau: Hello! Thanks for returning once more. Today we have the heist. The second line of the note was hard to get because it's not a real gem, but the rest of the code was crack-able I think. Easier than the real heist notes, anyway. Those are hard, but they're really fun; sometimes I get a line or two if I'm lucky. Thank you very much to Bakathief, kakashikrazy256, Aniki-xvi, and Saia who reviewed. Special thanks to Saia for looking at volume one of Conan for the volume of Magic Kaito on the bookshelf for me. Apparently the book is blank in the German version. Anybody else have other versions? Please enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, all of the heist notes would have to do with mythology and astrology because that's all I've got.

…

Catch and Release

"In mythology, 'Selene' is one of the goddesses of the moon," Hakuba explained to the gathered officers, "and 'the twins' refers to Gemini. From this, we can infer that Kid's heist will take place when the moon next moves into the house of Gemini. That will be tomorrow night at 10:27 PM."

He moved to the next slide while the taskforce sat nodding and whispering amongst themselves. "The 'ram' Kid mentions, if we follow with the astrology theme, is Aires. I did some research, and a ruby called 'Aires's Eye' is currently being displayed at the Beika Museum of Art and History. I believe that that is Kid's intended target."

"Wouldn't expect anything less from our Hakuba-kun," Nakamori-keibu laughed heartily, clapping the young man on the back as the taskforce applauded politely. "The only thing I don't get is that line about the virgin getting some before Kid gets the rock. What's all that about?"

Saguru blushed, mentally cursing his classmate. "I believe Kid is referring to me."

There were immature snickers and bawdy jokes from the peanut gallery.

"He's not referring to physical virginity; it's about astrology. My astrological sign is Virgo, the virgin. He's challenging me to catch him before he makes off with the jewel." Sometimes Hakuba wondered why everyone else in the world seemed to be so childish.

The tittering continued up until and even during the night of the heist.

Saguru waited impatiently, watching the seconds trickle away on his pocket watch. He couldn't help but think that this might be his last chance. He sighed dejectedly to himself.

Sometimes Kid held heists back to back, but other times the thief would disappear for weeks or months at a time.

Saguru may not get another shot at capturing the kaitou before his two weeks were up, so he had to make tonight count. He said a silent prayer to all of the major deities for luck, mercy, sympathy—anything that would help him catch that damn thief.

As if in answer to his prayer, a notecard drifted down from the heavens and landed at his feet.

He picked up the small, three-by-one piece of paper and stared at it.

"Up," it read.

Hakuba looked up and then all around, but he found nothing out of place.

'_Up,'_ he pondered. _'Up.'_

He shook his head and went back to guarding his post, waiting in anxious anticipation.

At 10:27 exactly, Kid appeared in a puff of that bloody pink smoke, sleep-gassing half of the taskforce and disappearing with the gem.

"We've got a visual on Kid!" a voice over the radio reported. "He's making his escape via hang-glider to the North, South, South-West, East, and North-West. There's another Kid heading North-East on foot, and yet another just jumped from the roof and disappeared into the crowd."

"After them!" Nakamori-keibu bellowed. "After all of them!"

The half of the department that wasn't unconscious leapt into action, scattering in every direction.

Saguru took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to tune out the chaos surrounding him. _'Which way, which way?'_ He was panicking slightly. This was his last chance. He couldn't blow it. _'Which way, dammit?'_ Then all of a sudden, it hit him. _'Up!'_

He sprinted as fast as his legs could go, and when he reached the roof, he ran straight at the door, throwing it open with all of his might.

Standing there, holding the ruby up to the light of the moon, was the elusive Kaitou Kid.

Hakuba didn't waste a second on hesitation. He barreled right at the tuxedo-clad menace, tackling him to the ground.

There was a struggle that ended with the decisive, metallic 'chink' of handcuffs fastening around wrists.

Saguru panted heavily, body shaking as he came down from the high caused by adrenaline coursing through his veins. He stared right at the phantom thief below him and gulped. "Kaitou Kid, I'm placing you under arrest for grand larceny, impersonating officers of the law among countless others, and…a whole slew of other things that I can't bloody well remember at the moment, but you'll get the list later."

Hakuba took a deep breath and blinked, unsure of what to do next. He then thought to get out another pair of handcuffs to put around Kid's ankles in case the ones on his wrists proved not to be enough of an obstacle.

And then they stared at each other.

"Aren't you going to call for backup?" the thief inquired in a tone that suggested that he thought the detective sitting on top of him was retarded.

"Right. Sorry. Um…" He fished for his radio. "This is Detective Hakuba Saguru. Uh…I'm on the roof right now, and I've got Kid in custody. I'd like to request backup."

There was much shouting, cheering, cursing, and booing from the crowd and the officers alike as the news went out.

The blonde could feel his heart beating wildly as he sat there waiting. It didn't feel real. "I…caught you."

"Mmhm." Kid rolled his eyes.

"Aren't you going to turn my hair funny colors and escape now?" This was a totally new experience, and the British detective was feeling a little bit out of his element.

"Can't do that with all of the bondage and you sitting on top of me." Kaito found himself extremely annoyed. Playing helpless was frustrating.

"Oh."

And then there was silence while both of the teens waited for backup to come take the thief away.

Hakuba bit his lip and stared down at his rival. He took a deep breath and reached out to take off the monocle. He paused as his fingers touched the metal and glass.

His hands were shaking.

Now he'd finally know. He'd finally have proof of Kuroba's guilt.

He hesitated, thinking of the yellow rose sitting in a vase on his desk.

He let go of the monocle with a sigh. "I don't care."

"After all that?" Kid chuckled.

"Yeah. After all that, I don't care anymore." He took the key from his pocket and undid the shackles around Kid's ankles. "Even if I got to stay in Japan, there'd be no point with you behind bars."

The thief pulled his manacled hands away as Saguru attempted to unlock them. "Even if I escaped to pull another heist, there'd be no point if you weren't there."

And at that moment, the taskforce arrived en masse, finding the young detective straddling (for all intents and purposes) a handcuffed thief.

"Well, I'll be," one of the officer's chuckled. "Looks like the virgin got some after all."

Saguru groaned, getting to his feet and then helping Kid up while the officers held the thief at gunpoint. "I'll escort him out," he informed them, taking the kaitou by the arm as the men with guns surrounded them, walking along with them as they made their way to the ground floor where the paddy wagon was waiting.

As much as he tried to keep a calm, detached look on his face, the bandit's body was shaking in fear.

Hakuba discretely let his hand brush against his rival's and hooked his index finger around the thief's pinky, giving it a light squeeze.

Kid squeezed back.

Camera flashed and fans screamed at the first sight of the Kaitou Kid coming out the museum doors.

Kid kept his head down, his hat and monocle effectively hiding his face.

Someone read the charges and his rights, and then Saguru let go, handing his rival over to the officers in charge of transport.

There was a beat, and then Kid grinned, laughing maniacally.

Smoke spewed from his person, covering him completely while he took off the cuffs, changed outfits, and disappeared into the crowd.

The smoke cleared, leaving empty space, cheering fans, a cursing Inspector Nakamori, and a chortling Hakuba Saguru.

The reporters ambushed the young detective as he left the scene, taking his picture and holding an impromptu press conference. They asked about his thoughts concerning his capture of the Kid and the thief's subsequent escape upon being turned over to the authorities.

Saguru simply smiled for the camera and swore that he'd put the phantom thief behind bars next time.

…

答 :o-(^.^)-o:

Mikau: I hope this site supports Japanese characters. If it doesn't, I apologize; have Brass Knuckles Kara. The first one is not exactly an emot, but a kanji. It's the 'kota' in 'kotae,' which means 'answer.' When we were learning it freshman year, my roommate said that it looked like Iruka-sensei from Naruto. The radical on top is the eyes, and there's that scar above the little line which is his nose, and the mouth radical is his mouth. If you don't know Iruka-sensei, please google an image and compare. Actually, if the kanji doesn't show up, google it and compare. Thanks for reading. Have a lovely day.


	8. The First Date

Mikau: Hello everyone! Thanks for coming back once again. Thanks this time to Eyeinthesky and kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. Updates might be further apart since I started my internship yesterday. I'm never going to get used to being called 'Kara-sensei.'

Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would be more Kid heists than murders.

….

The First Date

There was a bouquet of seven red roses on Saguru's desk when he finally made it home that evening.

The card sitting next to them said: "Bravo! Well done tonight; now if only you could chase me with that much passion in your eyes every heist. I have to admit, I was scared stiff all night, but if my small sacrifice allows you to stay in Japan, it'll be worth it. Thank you for holding my hand the whole time. I'll see you when I see you, Tantei-mine."

Hakuba took a deep breath and read the card over twice more.

His heart skipped a beat.

No wonder it had been so easy. Kid had purposely let himself be captured for Saguru's sake. He'd risked everything just so that Hakuba could stay. For so trivial a reason, Kaito had gambled with fate—for _his_ sake.

The blonde felt dizzy.

What the bloody hell was wrong with that magician? They weren't even friends; why would he do such a foolish thing?

He read the card again, eyes resting on the phrase 'Tantei-mine.' He knew Kid was just joking around, just teasing him, but it still made Saguru's head spin.

He sighed. He was tired, confused. He needed to lie down and clear his head.

000

Unfortunately, the next morning after he was showered and dressed, the note and the roses still made his heart beat a little faster and brought a blush to his cheeks.

Saguru sighed and went down for breakfast.

"Good morning, Saguru!" his father greeted, folding up the paper and coming to clap his son on the back. "Excellent work last night; I only wish I could have been there to see you in action—the only person to have ever successfully lead the Kid away in handcuffs. If only those lousy transport officers hadn't been so sloppy, ruining your hard work."

"I'll just have to catch him again next time." Saguru shrugged, trying not to beam too brightly at the praise from his father. He felt bad, having not earned it entirely on his own merit, but he saw no sense in wasting this once-in-a-lifetime gift that Kaito had procured for him.

"Right you will!" the large man chortled, finishing up his breakfast and taking the dishes to Baaya in the kitchen.

"Father?" The blonde bit his lip nervously. "I think…I'd like to remain in Japan after I graduate. I want to join the police force here."

"You don't want to go back and try for a place with Scotland Yard?" The larger man raised an eyebrow at his son.

"No. I might change my mind later, but for now, I think I want to study and work here…if that's alright with you, that is." He held his breath.

"Of course!" His father laughed loudly from his gut. "We'll get you into the finest police academy." He clapped his son on the back once more for good measure before heading out.

"Congratulations, Bocchama." Baaya smiled gently, quietly glowing with pride as she set breakfast down in front of her charge—hash browns and eggs with a side of fruit and yogurt.

"There's no need for congratulations, Baaya. Kid let me catch him." Saguru sighed, thanking his surrogate mother for the meal.

"He _let_ you catch him?" the matronly woman repeated in surprise.

"He…he came to visit me the other night when I was feeling really crappy, and I kind of told him about what Father had said. He let me catch him so that I could stay here." The detective teen smiled fondly down into his sunny-side-up eggs.

Baaya nodded slowly. "I see."

"Baaya, can I ask you a question in the strictest confidence?" He looked up at her, pleading with those soulful golden eyes.

"Of course, Saguru-dear. What is it?"

"What does one do when one finds oneself attracted to a member of the same sex?" Saguru sighed, biting his lip and waiting for the disgust and rejection.

It never came. "Well, I would make sure my feelings were genuine before rushing into anything," Baaya replied thoughtfully. "You've been under a lot of mental stress and emotional strain lately. It could just be a passing illusion. I'd give it awhile, especially considering…well, it is that thief, after all, right?"

The blonde nodded. "How can I not have feelings for him when he's gone so far out of his way for me? We're simply rivals and classmates. We don't even like each other, but he risked his freedom—something he prizes over all else—just to help me out. He's brave and extremely kind. He's sweet, and I…I find it confusing."

"Love is like that, Dear," Baaya chuckled, patting her charge on the shoulder. "Just take it slow, and don't jump into things. Establish a friendship with him. That should give your feelings time to work themselves out."

000

Kuroba was leap-frogging over other students, dodging Aoko-kun's mop, when Hakuba arrived.

The detective suddenly found himself being used by the magician as a human shield.

"Kaito, you coward!" the inspector's daughter shrieked in fury. "You!"

"Excuse me, Aoko-kun. Could I borrow Kuroba for a moment?" Saguru cut the magician off before he could get out the needling comment that had been on his lips.

Kuroba let out a little 'eep' as the blonde grabbed his wrist and unceremoniously dragged him from the classroom.

Once they were out in the hall, Saguru bowed deeply from the waist. "I don't know how to thank you for what you did for me last night. I'm extremely grateful. Thank you, Kuroba."

"You're welcome," Kaito chuckled. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but you're welcome."

Hakuba blinked, rising out of his bow. "You…no, of course you don't." The detective sighed. He should have known better. "Of course you'd still insist that you weren't Kid. Kuroba, cut the act; I know it's you. I really wish you'd stop insulting my intelligence. Of course I recognized you. How could I bloody not when I was on top of you, inches from your face?"

Kaito's eyes went wide at this. "Wow, Hakuba. Too much information. God, I hope you're just pulling my leg; otherwise, my image of Kid is totally shot. You don't just go telling people that their hero is sleeping with—"

"—You know what? Just forget it," Saguru seethed, cutting his companion off. "If you insist on mocking me, I'm leaving. I don't know how I got it into my head that we could be friends, but…forget it. I don't understand why you helped me, but I've thanked you, and I'm leaving now." He turned on his heel and started to storm away, his tear ducts beginning to sting.

"Hakuba?" Kaito softly called after his classmate.

"What?" the detective muttered.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you," the brunette replied in earnest. "Would you let me treat you to coffee after school to make up for it?"

Saguru blinked in confusion, slowly turning back around. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Other than to say sorry?" Kaito grinned, chuckling mirthfully. His eyes sparkled. "I want to hang out with you…to see if we could be friends."

And so, after school, Hakuba found himself sitting across from the magician in a little café called "Nancy's" with a scone and a cup of tea.

Kuroba was eating a double chocolate chip cookie to go with his hot chocolate while simultaneously juggling the napkins. He glanced up, meeting a pair of golden eyes, and smirked, looking like some feral creature.

The napkins returned to the tabletop where they belonged.

"Hakuba?"

"Y-yes?" The sudden noise caused the taller boy to jump.

All playfulness faded from the thief. "I'm sorry."

Our hero blinked. "Whatever for?"

"I'm not sure, really." Kaito shrugged, getting out a deck of cards to shuffle. "For whatever I did that made you cry the other day. You usually shrug me off and do that 'keep calm' British thing when I tease you, but the other day… Are you doing okay, Hakuba?"

It was difficult to think straight under the gaze of those violet-blue orbs of Kuroba's. "It's…just stress." It was pointless to deny that anything was wrong, but he couldn't come up with a convincing lie, so he just left it at that. He then bit his lip. "My father…"

"Your father?" Kaito cocked his head to the side. He'd seen the Superintendent briefly once, but he didn't know enough to make any judgments.

"…contributes immensely to my psychological strain. Never mind; I don't want to talk about it." Saguru busied himself with his scone.

The brunette nodded. "Anything I could do to make life suck less?"

This got a chuckle out of the detective. "In the event you _were_ Kid, you could retire. Better yet, you could arrange a meeting with Kid for me. I'd like to thank him properly."

"For what exactly?" Kaito raised an eyebrow at his companion in a manner that suggested he suspected the detective and thief of afterhours trysts.

Hakuba blushed the exact shade of Santa's suit. "N-nothing like that! It's not what you're thinking. It was no—…well, not 'nothing.' It was everything, actually. He allowed me to escort him out in shackles before escaping."

Kaito nodded. "So…nothing funny is going on between you two?"

"N-no." Saguru shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Good. Then I still have a chance."

Saguru nearly doused Kuroba in the tea he had been drinking. "With _whom_?"

"Who do you think?" The magician snickered impishly. "I'm not his biggest fan for nothing."

It was at this moment that the English detective seriously doubted his deduction that Kuroba was Kid. The other teen sounded deathly serious. But, then again, it could just be the man's gigantic ego. Narcissism was not out of the question.

Saguru took a breath before asking. "Are you gay? I thought you were in love with Aoko-kun."

"Do you have a vested interest in my answer?" Kaito eyed his classmate with suspicion.

Hakuba's nose and the left corner of his mouth twitched.

The trickster laughed. "I _am_ in love with Aoko, but nothing will come of it."

"Why is that? She loves you too, doesn't she? Unless I'm utterly mistaken."

"Nothing will come of it _because_ I love her." Kaito gave a bitter-sweet smile. "I love her, so I want what's best for her, and that's not me. What can I give her? An intense, passionate romance like one from the books—adventure and magic—but that's all. I can't give her stability or security."

Kaito bit his lip, looking down into his mug as he continued. "She deserves a nice, loving, boring guy with some nine to five job. She deserves a cute little house, two kids, and a dog—a bright future.

"I can only promise her today. Hakuba, I could be dead tomorrow; how could I start a relationship with her knowing it would only bring her pain?" The thief smirked bitterly.

"You're a noble man, Kuroba…more so than I gave you credit for, anyway." The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Why do you say that you could be dead tomorrow?"

"It's true for any of us, isn't it?" The magician's carefully practiced poker face was back. "More so for me because I regularly engage in dangerous activities."

"Such as jumping off of buildings and running from the police," Saguru muttered under his breath.

"Says you," Kuroba snorted. "I was thinking more along the lines of rock-climbing and running from mop-wielding childhood friends." He glanced down at his watch. "Sorry to cut our meeting short, but I've gotta go. I have another date." And with that, Kaito placed enough money on the table to cover both of their orders, mussed the Brit's coif, and made a stylish exit, giving the detective a two-finger-salute as he walked out the door.

Hakuba sighed.

…

v(^v^)v

Mikau: It's supposed to be a bird. Slight use of the imagination may be required. So I was watching this movie the other day called Quill about the life and training of a seeing eye dog. Great movie. I could tell it was set in Kansai because of the accent, and this was confirmed by the Kyoto plates on the cars, but there was this one scene where they went to the city hall. In the background there was a big sign that said 'kutsu,' and I thought, "We have the same shoe store by our city hall." Then they showed the city hall building, and I thought, "Dude! That's ten minutes from my house!" It's always interesting to see familiar places in movies or pictures. Thanks so much for reading!


	9. Motives

Mikau: Hello! Welcome back; thanks for coming. Thanks to kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. So, I was reading the first volume of Conan again, and on page 122 or there about, when the professor is giving Conan gadgets, there in the pile of inventions is the eye camera robot from volume two of Magic Kaito. I smiled. Please enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the drawing style would have _never_ started to improve.

…

Motives

Conan blinked.

Kudo Shinichi was standing outside of the Mori Detective Agency, shuffling a deck of cards.

But that was impossible because _he_ was Kudo Shinichi! That left one alternative.

"Good afternoon, Kid," the mini-sleuth sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. Call me Kaito." The phantom thief smirked.

"Kaito?" Conan stifled a laugh. Obviously it was a play on the word 'kaitou.' "All right, 'Kaito.' And why did you feel the need to dress up like me?"

The magician snorted. "Well, excuse me for being born like this."

Conan blinked. Now that he looked more closely, the other boy wasn't really disguised as Shinichi at all. The hair was all messy without a hint of Kudo's telltale cowlick, and the eyes were more purple than they were blue. Plus, the other teen was wearing Ekoda High's uniform.

"Oh." The born investigator resisted the urge to climb the other young man in order to pinch his cheeks and check for any kind of wig or disguise. "Would you mind if I…" Conan blushed, fidgeting and trying not to be a detective for five minutes.

"What?" Kaito chuckled, picking up the smaller boy. "Pinch my cheeks for proof? Don't you believe me, Tantei-kun?"

The shrunken Heisei Holmes ignored the humiliation at being picked up like a child in favor of running his hands through the Kid's hair, pulling at his cheeks, and checking the eyes for colored contacts. Finding nothing, he simply stared at the other teen in awe.

"I know. I'm gorgeous, aren't I? Be careful not to fall in love with me," he leaned in and whispered the last word, "Shinichi."

"Shinichi?" Kid's spell over Conan was broken at the sound of Ran's voice. "Shinichi! It is you!"

Kaito suddenly found himself face-to-face with a woman he had impersonated many months ago. "Um…sorry, but no. I'm Kaito. Pleasure to meet you, Miss…?"

The karate champ blinked and then took a closer look at the man holding her charge. "Oh. Excuse me. It's just that you look an awful lot like my friend, and I…I'm Mori Ran. It's nice to meet you, Kaito-san."

"The pleasure's all mine." Kaito shifted so that Conan was sitting on his hip, freeing one of his hands so that he could take Ran's and kiss it.

"Um…are you a relative of Conan-kun's?" Ran's cheeks turned crimson.

The magician grinned, adjusting so that the young detective was hanging from his front like a koala once again. "Relatives? No, we're just friends. We met at a Kid heist and really hit it off. Lately we've been meeting to have coffee and chat. I hope that's okay."

"No, it's fine." The young woman turned to her 'little brother.' "Conan-kun, why didn't you ever mention this to me?"

The former Kudo Shinichi gulped. "I thought you would be angry since you told me never to speak with strangers."

Ran bit her lip in thought. (Kaito observed that she was kind of cute when she did that.) "Well, you really shouldn't speak with strangers, but…please tell me next time. Are you two going somewhere now?"

"Just to Poirot." The thief shrugged.

"Okay. Please don't spoil your dinner, Conan-kun. We're having curry tonight." And, with a smile and a wave, Mori-chan was gone up the stairs.

"You can put me down now, 'Kaito,'" the chibi-tantei snorted.

"I like holding you like this," the phantom whispered, nuzzling the older boy's neck. "I like the intimacy."

"You're going to get arrested for being a pedophile." Conan blushed, not entirely opposed to the thief's attentions. "Why are you coming on to me?"

"Maybe I just like making your face turn colors. Maybe I've fallen for that big, sexy brain of yours." Kid took the opportunity to nibble on Conan's ear while he was whispering into it.

Conan felt dizzy. For the first time in his life, he was experiencing physical intimacy, and it just had to be with that damn tease of a kaitou.

Kaito pulled back and set the first grader down. "In all honesty, I'm lonely. I don't really have a lot of friends, and I don't get touched often. You've seen me as Kid; you know what I'm like. I _live_ off of attention. I _feed_ on it. I _crave_ it, and yet, I'm deprived of it." He paused and smiled softly before walking into the coffee shop. "That should help you understand me and my motives."

The detective nodded.

…

(l('.')l)

Mikau: I bring you dizzy monkey. It took me forever to figure out a way to make the ears symmetrical. On a side note, I feel bad for my local postmen. The reading of the kanji for my name is highly irregular, so I get a lot of funny looks and "Are you Miss Sora Kazeha?" One of the readings for the character for sky is 'kara,' but it means 'empty.' The other characters are wind and feather. Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you thought if you have the time.


	10. Emptiness

Mikau: Hello everyone. Thank you very much for your continued readership. Thanks also to kakashikrazy256 for reviewing. Work is keeping me pretty busy during the week, but I'll try to update every couple days or so. The other day I was standing in front of one of my classes, and I thought, "Oh my god. This is how it feels to be on the other side of the desks." Teachers can see everything from up there in front.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, it would have ended years ago due to lack of new ways to creatively murder people.

….

Emptiness

It was around midnight when Saguru was roused from his sleep by a presence in his room.

His eyes snapped open, and they were meet by another pair—this one indigo.

"Kid," he breathed.

"Hakuba-san?" the thief returned with a chuckle.

"You're…in my room…again." Saguru's sleep-numbed mind was not processing very quickly.

"When I was following you discretely today, I heard you tell your cute little boyfriend that you wanted to meet me." Kid grinned like a certain fictitious feline.

"You were stalking me?" That woke the Brit's brain up.

"It's called 'research,' Pot-san," the phantom tittered, taking a seat at the foot of the detective's bed.

"Kuroba is _not_ my boyfriend!" It was taking a while for the blonde to catch up in the conversation.

"Oh? Shame. He's good-looking." Kid leered at Kaito's pictures on the wall and chuckled. "Maybe I'll take a shot at him."

"Are you gay?" Hakuba's eyes narrowed as he took in the internationally-wanted criminal sitting on his bed.

The bandit laughed again. "I simply appreciate beauty—in all of its forms."

Saguru nodded, and there was silence.

"Oh! I almost forgot," the detective exclaimed a moment later. He stood and bowed to the thief. "Thank you so much for what you did for me. I wish there was some way I could repay you. It means a great deal to me."

"Sit down." Kid waved away his thanks with a warm chuckle. "Heists weren't as interesting before you. If I had to go back to straightforward, time-place-target heist notes, I think I'd die. I enjoy our riddles and cat and mouse game. I'd miss you terrible, if you went away, Tantei-san."

"Saguru," the detective whispered, entranced by the phantom's eyes. "Call me 'Saguru,' please."

"Only when we're in your bedroom, Saguru," Kid whispered, hiding his surprise at the detective's words behind his polished poker face. "I suppose you'll want to call me 'Kaitou' now too?"

"Kaito?" Saguru blinked, jumping slightly in shock. Had he finally admitted it?

"No. Long 'o' sound. 'Kaitou.'"

"Kaitou," the blonde repeated softly.

"So…what were you going to say about your father to your little stud-muffin?"

"My _what_?" Hakuba yelped.

"Your _father_," Kid clarified. "Today in the café."

The Brit blinked a few times, staring in disbelief at his guest. He shook his head, trying to get thoughts of 'stud-muffins' out. "Um…I don't remember."

"Then…tell me a little bit about him. What's your father like?" Kid made himself comfortable, as if he was settling in for a long chat.

"W-why?" This whole scenario seemed surreal to the detective. In fact, he was almost positive that he must be dreaming. Except, if he were indeed in a dream with the Kaitou Kid on his bed, why would they be talking about his father? Hakuba felt that Freud would have a field-day with the entire setup.

"Humor me. You owe me, don't you? Just comply with my wishes, okay? Tell me about your father." The firm command was softened by a smile.

Saguru opened his mouth, closed it, and frowned. "I don't really know. He's…" No words came to mind.

"Hmm…how about… Does he like sports? What's his favorite food? What kind of movies does he like? Can you tell me anything like that?" Kid suggested, trying to get the conversation started.

Hakuba bit his lip as he concentrated. What did he know about the man that had sired him? What did he know about that man who sometimes sat across from him at the breakfast table? Nothing. Absolutely nothing was coming to mind. He'd never really spoken with him. He'd been spoken at, but never with.

"I'm…not sure." It was humiliating to admit. "We don't have many heart-to-heart conversations."

"How many is 'not many'?" Kid quietly asked.

Hakuba bit the inside of his cheek. None. "Just…not many." His father was a stranger. He'd never realized it before, but now it hurt.

"How about…your mother? What's your mother like?" The thief sensed the detective's anxiety and decided to move on to a new subject.

"She's…" Saguru trailed off, terrified to find that he had a similar problem. He bit his lip and thought, really thought, searching his memories of his parents for anything he could grasp and hold onto.

"She goes to a lot of parties…she likes wine and dressing up and dancing. She likes shopping, and she's irresponsible with money. She's eccentric and naïve. Whimsical. She never learns from her mistakes because there's always someone to clean up after her."

Like with him. His mother had given birth to him, tired of him within a month, and left him for Baaya to take care of.

The kaitou nodded, getting the impression that family was not a good subject to discuss with his new acquaintance. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't wish to, but…can you tell me a little about your childhood?"

"Childhood?" Saguru sighed. "There's not much to tell. I was shuffled back and forth between England and Japan, and Baaya followed to take care of me. I simply drifted, not really forming any attachments one place or the other. It's difficult to maintain friendships with people when you're gone about as often as you're present. People move on without you, and it's hard to get close when you know you've only got a year with them."

"You don't have any close friends?" Kid was hesitant in asking.

"I have other things to occupy my time. I have my books, my cases…I have Baaya and Watson." God he sounded pathetic. "I've answered your questions, so please leave now, Kaitou. Come back some other time. I'm tired." He couldn't take anymore. He could feel pity radiating off of the thief, and he didn't want it.

"Goodnight, Saguru," Kid whispered, lightly patting the blonde on the head on his way to the balcony. He placed a white rose on the nightstand.

"Goodnight, Kaitou," the detective echoed, curling back up in his bed.

Why had he never noticed that his life was so empty?

…

^..^

\^^/

.\./

Mikau: It's a fox. If the formatting gets messed up, so help me…. So, most people pronounce 'Mikau' as 'Miku,' so I've just gotten used to being called 'Miku.' So when my roommate freshman year played Fatal Frame and shouted "Damn it, Miku!" I always jumped. Incidentally, you can write Miku as 39 (because of the way the numbers can be pronounced in Japanese), but 39 is also 'sankyu,' which is 'Thank you.' For those of you who read but don't review, if you have time, please let me know what you think of the story so far. I'd like to know what was good and what was bad so that I can improve my writing. Thanks for reading!


	11. Ghosts of the Past

Mikau: Greetings all! Thanks for coming back again. Thank you to elufuir, athieisademon, and icarusdg who reviewed. I'm really grateful to everyone who goes out of their way to send in their thoughts. So I went to the zoo the other day. It was tiny, but apparently it's the second largest in Japan. I went into the reptile house because I'm working on curing my ophidiophobia. It went pretty well until the snakes started moving. It was then too freaky, and I made a break for it. On the up side, I had a meaningful staring contest with a turtle. Please enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the Black Organization members would all wear pink because it's more intimidating. (At least I think so, but I have an unnatural aversion to pink.)

….

Ghosts of the Past

Hakuba Senior was at breakfast the next morning.

After greeting his father and Baaya, Saguru hesitated before asking, "Father, do you like sports?"

The police superintendent looked up over his newspaper in surprise at his son. "Not…in particular. Why do you ask, Saguru?"

"I was just curious." The young detective shrugged. "We don't really talk about unimportant things very often, so…I thought maybe we could."

His father nodded. "So…sports?"

"Um…yes. Uh…how about movies. What kind of movies do you like?" His father's quizzical gaze was making him nervous.

"I enjoy action movies…sometimes comedies."

There was awkward silence.

"Do you have a favorite food?" Saguru could think of no questions of his own and found himself using Kid's examples.

"I like oyakodon."

More silence.

"You'll be late for school if you don't hurry, Saguru."

The blonde nodded, turning his attention to his breakfast. He had run out of topics of conversation anyway.

000

"Would you be willing to go somewhere with me?" Saguru found himself asking the magician after class had let out for the day.

Kaito blinked. "That depends upon where you want to take me and what your intentions are."

The detective blushed. "I…I just wanted to talk with you. There's this café in Beika that caught my interest the other day, and I was wondering…I mean, you don't have to go if you don't want to, but…" Why, oh why was he blathering on like a lovesick schoolgirl?

"I'll go," the brunette chuckled, patting the sputtering sleuth on the head.

They walked in relative silence on their way to Beika until Kaito started to recognize their surroundings.

"So…this café have a name?" the thief asked in suspicion. He wouldn't know how to react if Conan saw Kaito and Hakuba together.

"Poirot—like Agatha Christie's detective. The name is actually the reason it caught my attention. Have you heard of it before?"

"Ah…I've been there a few times. I love their brownies." Kaito plastered on the poker face so as to not alert the gumshoe of his concern. "My boyfriend and I meet there sometimes. I hope he doesn't see us together; I'd hate to have to explain myself."

Hakuba stopped in his tracks. "You have a boyfriend?"

"He's not really my boyfriend," Kaito chuckled, thinking about how Tantei-kun would grumble and protest the label.

"I'm confused," the Englishman confessed.

"Good." The magician took his companion by the arm and led the way to the café.

Once they were seated with their orders, Kaito smirked, striking up a conversation. "So…you wanted to talk to me?"

"Right." Saguru fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I was wondering…are you close to your parents?"

"I've always been really close to my dad, but my mom and I aren't really as close as we once were. Why do you ask?" Kaito had some idea why he was being questioned, but he had to ask in order to keep up appearances.

"It was just…something that someone said to me that made me wonder about how other people interact with their families." Hakuba studied his teacup intently. It had paw prints meandering this way and that all around it.

"Everybody's different. I think it's normal at our age to rebel against our elders and complain that they don't understand us. That seems to be the trend, anyway." The brunette shrugged, cutting his brownie into twelve bite-size pieces.

"What are your parents like, Kuroba?"

"My father is strong, kind, brilliant…noble." He took his time, picking his words very carefully. "He's honorable. He protects everyone, and he makes everyone smile. My father is the best."

It was clearly evident that the young thief took great pride in his father, really looked up to and respected the man.

"And your mother?"

Kaito laughed fondly, his smile lighting up the room. "My mom's great too. She's one tough woman, and she does have a scary side, but she's loving and giving. Patient. I may have learned all of my tricks from my dad, but I got my playfulness and mischievous side from my mom."

"So…you had a happy childhood, then? What was that like?" Hakuba couldn't help but feel jealous of the other teen. He wished that _he_ could have parents like that.

"I'm the son of a magician," the rogue snickered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "My childhood was _magical_. I grew up inside of a dream…a fantasy. Logic and the laws of nature and physics were bendable. Things could be made out of nothing, and things could disappear into thin air. Anything was possible if you believed hard enough. Even if something went wrong, the show went on. Any problem could be solved if everyone worked together."

Kaito smiled fondly at the memory and set about eating the first bite of his brownie. "I used to travel with my father. I don't remember anything in particular, really. There are fragments of memories, but…I was happy, and everything was wondrous…amazing… fascinating…grand…exciting. Mom and Dad and I were always together, and everything was wonderful…until I was nine. That was the end of my childhood."

Saguru blinked. That was sudden. Everything was peachy keen until he turned nine, and then that was it. "Why? What happened when you were nine?"

Kaito shook his head, stuffing another brownie slice into his mouth.

It was quiet a moment.

"Does…your father still put on shows?"

"He can't anymore." Kaito shrugged.

More silence.

"You said you two were still close?" Saguru fished.

"I feel closer to him now than I ever had before." Kaito nodded, concentrating on his mug of chocolate milk. "I think I finally understand him now that I'm older."

"But…you're not as close to your mother. Did…your parents get divorced?" During all of the research Hakuba had done on Kuroba in an attempt to prove that the boy was Kid, Saguru had neglected to look into the brunette's family.

"No, but they're not together anymore." Kaito paused briefly, the sound of the bells above the door catching his attention. "I've slowly been drifting away from my mom for years now. She's supportive and loving and everything, but…I can tell that I hurt her. She looks at me, and all she sees is a little carbon copy of him. She's tries not to show how much it hurts, but…I see it, and it hurts me too. Better to keep my distance."

Hakuba could have slapped himself. There was absolutely no excuse for his stupidity. "Your father was Kuroba Toichi."

"My father _is_ Kuroba Toichi," Kaito replied automatically.

"He died in an accident on stage nine years ago—when you were nine. That was when Kaitou Kid disappeared." All of the information spewed forth as he connected the dots before he could filter it.

"He was murdered," the brunette seethed quietly. "But he's not dead. He's right here." The shorter boy pointed to his heart. "And in the hearts of everyone who remembers him—all of the people to whom he brought smiles and roses. He'll never die as long as someone remembers."

Kaito sighed and then whispered, "Excuse me." He grabbed his bag and headed for the door, leaving money for his half-finished meal on the table.

…

**_l:::::l10/6**

. (^ . ^) **c\ /**

Mikau: Mad Hatter anyone? I hope the formatting turns out okay. So, I realize that it's weird for Kaito to refer to his father in the present tense, but I really feel that the boy has a mental block against admitting that Toichi's gone. At least he does in this fic, anyway. There are some people I can't bring myself to talk about in the past tense either. In other news, I have a month left in Japan, but I ran out of laundry detergent. I bought a small bottle of Downy, and now my towels are all fluffy and soft! Seriously. It's amazing! I've never had such fluffy towels before! Thanks a lot for reading. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. This is one of the ones I'm really not sure about.


	12. Falling for the Thief

Mikau: Hey everyone! Thanks for joining me again. Thanks also to Aniki-xvi, Bakathief, and kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. I really appreciate it, since I was a little unsure of the way I wrote Kaito last chapter. How was Valentine's Day? I worked. I was surprised that I received chocolate because in Japan it's supposed to be that girls give boys chocolate on Valentine's Day, and then boys give the girls something in return on White Day (March 14th).

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Ran's outfits wouldn't be so atrocious. I seriously hate her sweaters. She could be cute, but no! Sweaters and turtlenecks. I swear.

…..

Falling for the Thief

Conan stopped and stared.

Hakuba Saguru and the Kaitou Kid were having coffee together.

The young boy's blood began to boil.

Not only was Hakuba having coffee with _Conan's_ thief, he was doing it in _their_ coffee shop, in _their_ booth.

The young gumshoe's conclusion was this: either the blonde had somehow tricked or threatened the thief into accompanying him, or Kaito was an f-ing slut. Since it didn't seem that the brunette was having coffee under duress, Conan was banking on the second option.

He felt a pressure in his chest like someone was using his lungs as a stress ball, and the sharp stab of betrayal got him right in the heart. He fought the urge to barge in there, kick Hakuba, and shout, "I thought what we had was special, Kaito, but it looks like you'll have coffee with just any old detective, huh?"

The grade school gumshoe was so distracted by his thoughts that he almost didn't notice the goings on inside until Kaito was out the door.

The magician blinked when he caught sight of his usual dining companion. "Tantei-kun?"

Conan jumped. "Kaito. So…you're cheating on me with Hakuba?"

Kaito gave his friend a tired smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "No. We're classmates…maybe friends in the future. He asked me to come with him to talk, but I didn't know we were coming _here_ until we'd almost arrived."

"Well…take him somewhere else in the future." Conan let his eyes wander the other teen's body and face. Kaito looked drained.

"Why? Because this is _our_ place?" The magician chuckled softly, picking up his companion and burying his face in the crook of the older boy's neck. "Are you jealous, Shinichi?"

Kaito's breath tickled.

Conan sighed, petting the magician's hair softly. "No. It just makes more sense for you guys to go somewhere in Ekoda, since it's closer. That _is_ Ekoda High's uniform you're wearing, is it not?"

"It is. Just say you're jealous, Shin-chan," the younger boy mumbled.

"I'm jealous," Conan admitted, loving the way Kid's lips felt against his neck when the other boy spoke. "And you're going to get arrested for PDA with a minor."

"Then let's go somewhere more private. Is it okay if I invite myself over for a bit?" Without waiting for an answer, the teen started walking up the stairs to the detective agency.

"No one will be home for another hour or so, and I don't care."

The thief toed off his shoes and then removed Conan's for him without setting the boy down. He then went over to the couch and lay on his back, holding Conan to his chest like a stuffed animal. He closed his violet eyes.

"What's the matter, Kaito?" the chibi-tantei whispered, lying still.

Usually the kaitou was cheery and full of energy, but today he seemed a little taciturn, morose.

"Did something happen?"

"Hakuba and I talked about my dad," the young thief mumbled without opening his eyes. "I'm glad we did; I wanted to, but it was hard."

"I'm sorry," the former teenager mumbled, listening to the larger boy's heartbeat.

"Thanks." Kaito gave Conan's hand a squeeze. "Tell me about your day?"

The detective complied, quietly outlining the events of his day until the younger teen fell asleep. He smiled as the magician's breathing became slow and even, and then he allowed his own eyes to slide shut.

It was about two hours later, according to Conan's watch, when Kogoro came home, complaining loudly and slamming the door.

That was what woke the slumbering sleuth and managed to stir the magician beneath him.

Ran must also be home, for there was a blanket lovingly placed on top of the sleeping pair.

"Morning," Kaito whispered with a grin.

"Morning." Conan smiled back.

The tender moment was soon ruined by the great Sleeping Kogoro demanding to know what the hell Kudo Shinichi was doing napping on his couch.

Once the issue of mistaken identity was cleared up, Mori demanded to know what the hell Kaito was doing napping on his couch.

Excuses were made, things were settled, and Conan was ordered to escort his guest to the door.

"Scary man," Kaito mumbled when they were on the stairway, safely out of hearing range. "And you're going to be asking for his daughter's hand in marriage one of these days? Good luck, my friend."

The pint-sized detective bit his lip, shifting nervously. "I probably won't…I mean, I don't think I'll ever have the chance."

The taller brunette turned on the stairs and looked back at his small companion. "Why do you say that?"

"My body's building up an immunity to the antidote. At this rate, even if Haibara comes up with a cure, my body will probably reject it. As things stand, I'm probably stuck like this."

Kaito blinked and stared in horror at his friend. "How can you say that so calmly? How can you give up like that?"

Conan shrugged. "I've been fighting and struggling and hoping for what seems like years, but now it's time to face the facts. Haibara told me a few weeks ago…around the time when we first started meeting, and I think it's taken until about now to finally sink in. It's not something that I can change by continuing to fight. There is no other way; I have no more options, and I've exhausted all of my resources. All that's left now is to face the facts and accept them. I'm Edogawa Conan now."

The magician picked up the detective and held him close without saying a word.

"It's okay," Conan mumbled. "I'll just grow up again. This is my chance to start over and make something better of myself. I'll just…fall in love with someone else."

Kaito held him all the tighter.

They stayed like that for a good while until Conan pulled back and gazed up into the thief's shimmering indigo eyes.

Those eyes said that their owner's heart was breaking—breaking for _his_ sake.

Looking back, that was what did it. Those eyes were what made the detective fall for the thief.

"Thank you," Conan whispered, pressing his forehead to Kaito's. "Thank you."

….

^(^.^)-\_ .

Mikau: It's Hockey Kara. Yes. That's a hockey stick and puck. Could also be golf. Someone told me that my sports Kara emots were all left-handed. That's because I'm ambidextrous, and it wouldn't look like a hockey stick if I held it in my right hand. Not that it looks like much of a hockey stick now…. So I taught my first class independently today, and it went well. We learned about typical American foods, US money, and American gestures in order to prepare them for their homestays over the summer. My students are adorable. Thank you so much for reading. Please send in your comments if you have time.


	13. An Original Question

Mikau: Greetings everybody! Thanks for tuning in for the next installment of CTM! Thanks also to kakashikrazy256, icarusdg, and Aniki-xvi who reviewed. If you're reading this and have time, please drop me a comment talking about what you thought was good and bad about the story or chapter. I'd like to know what you think so that I can do better in the future. Thank you very much. Incidentally, I really liked today's DC episode. Sera's super cool. Too bad I had a little trouble understanding her when she was talking up on the roof. Maybe I'll watch that episode again when the sub comes out. Please enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the bowtie never would have happened. It is a heinous crime against fashion, and it must go. Too bad it's such a nifty little gadget. (Did I seriously just say "nifty"?)

…

An Original Question

"I would prefer you not visit me wearing that outfit," Saguru smiled as he gazed at his guest. "It's rather…incriminating."

"How would you have me look?" Kid chuckled, taking a seat on the arm of the couch a few feet away. "What would you have me wear?"

The hormonal teen couldn't help but picture the thief in a French maid's outfit. "Could you…disguise yourself as Kuroba Kaito?"

The phantom raised an eyebrow. "I could, but why would you want me to? It would only help you feed your delusions that we are one and the same."

"If you must know, I'm rather fond of his face," the blonde admitted in a teasing tone.

'_Poker face,'_ the magician under the mask of Kid reminded himself. "I didn't know you swung that way, Saguru."

"You're not the only one who appreciates beauty, Kaitou." The detective cast the thief a sly, suggestive grin.

Kid hummed thoughtfully. "Admit it. You fancy him."

"I do," the Brit easily agreed.

Kid blinked. "Really?"

"Mmhm. He's got a pretty face, a nice body, and that tongue of his is positively wicked. As an added bonus, magicians are generally good with their hands. I'd put him through a mattress in a heartbeat, given the opportunity."

'_!'_ Kaito screamed. "I wholly agree with you." Kid smirked like shark—all teeth. "I'd make him mine in a second. I'd love to hear him screaming my name."

Hakuba chuckled. "You're good, you know? I'd expected to get some kind of reaction out of you with that, but…"

"Oh? Were you just baiting me because you believe me to be the sexy little magician in question?" Kaito mentally breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Indeed." The Brit sighed. "Oh well. I'll get you eventually…though, probably not."

"What happened to your fighting spirit, Tantei-san?" Kid looked quizzically at his rival.

"Truth be told, you broke me, Kaitou." The sleuth smiled wearily. "When I came here, I was such a cocky prick. I thought I could catch you for sure, unmask you, show the world that a thief wasn't someone to adore. After a few months of suffering nothing but humiliation at your hands, I slowly came to realize that I wasn't the hotshot that I believed myself to be. I am a much more humble man now thanks to you, dear thief."

"I think I like you better this way," the kaitou commented softly. "The outfit was obnoxious."

"No one took me seriously in the outfit."

It was quiet for a while, neither boy feeling compelled to say anything.

After a good ten minutes, Kid finally asked, "So…when you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?"

"A detective," Saguru chuckled. "There was never anything else. I wasn't interested in much, and I didn't have any hobbies, so…"

"What _were_ you interested in?" the thief gently prodded.

"Science. I always wanted to know why things were the way they were, how and why everything worked the way it did…things like that. Science helped me understand the world around me…but not the people. I've never understood people. Animals make sense to me, but people… I was an odd child. I think I made others feel uncomfortable…maybe that's why no one ever tried to get close to me." Hakuba bit his lip and quietly contemplated.

"How about toys? What did you play with? Did you have any favorite toys?" Kid quickly diverted the other teen's attention before Hakuba could start brooding.

"I…had books. Maybe some stuffed animals when I was too young to read, but…mostly books. Ah. I had a microscope. My grandfather gave it to me when I was six, and I simply adored it. I remember I'd go hunting in the woods around the villa for things to mount on slides." He paused, forehead taking on wrinkles. "I really was a bizarre child, wasn't I?"

"But you turned out okay." The phantom patted the blonde softly on the head. "Goodnight, Saguru."

"Goodnight, Kaitou." Hakuba smiled and took the new yellow rose from where his friend had left it atop his head. He took a moment to admire it before adding it to his growing collection.

000

"I was wondering what you wanted to grow up to be when you were a child."

They were back at Nancy's Café, Hakuba drinking Earl Grey tea and Kaito sipping at a glass of chocolate milk.

"My father." The magician shrugged.

"You have powdered sugar on your nose." Saguru laughed, taking a napkin and wiping it away.

"Thanks," the brunette smiled sheepishly. "Why do you ask? I mean, about my family and my childhood and everything?"

"I want to know more about you." It sounded cliché even to his own ears, but Saguru decided to be truthful. "How about hobbies and interests? What did you like when you were a child?"

Kaito shrugged, stealing a few cookie crumbs off of his companion's plate. "In terms of interests, I'm practically the same person now as I was when I was five…if that tells you anything about my maturity level. I loved magic and pranks and my father."

"You must have changed somewhat." The gumshoe found the magician's tale hard to believe.

He thought that he glimpsed an ironic, bitter little grin flash across his companion's face, but it was gone before he could confirm whether or not it had existed in the first place.

"Not really. I'm not as innocent as I once was, but…I still have all of the same likes, dislikes, fears, and insecurities. I haven't changed much." Kaito said it with conviction, but Hakuba was sure that it couldn't be completely true. No one remained entirely the same from one week to the next, let alone a whole decade.

"How about toys? What did you used to play with?"

"The usual." Kaito risked taking another cookie crumb. "My parents bought me whatever action figures were popular. I had what everybody else had. I played with Dad's equipment too. He showed me how to use it, taught me the tricks of the trade."

Suddenly an original question popped into Saguru's head. "Hey, did you ever have a pet?"

"Pet?" Kaito blinked, and it was the most endearing thing. "No. We had doves, but they're not pets."

"And you still keep doves?"

"Of course." Kaito reached for another cookie crumb, but this time Saguru swatted his hand away. "I have fifteen right now: Mona, Luna, Nana, Rona, Nona, Hana, Runa, Una, Yuna, Yana, Mana, Jona, Henna, Donna, and Zenna. Mona's my favorite, but don't tell the other girls, okay?"

"I love the names. It's impressive that you can say them so fast." Saguru chuckled and surreptitiously reached out to nab a piece of the magician's brownie.

"I practice." Kaito pulled his pastry out of harm's way. "Did you ever have any pets?"

"No. Not before Watson." The detective smirked, catching on to an important detail. "You know, you've never asked me any questions before that one. When I was asking you last time about your family and everything, you never once asked me in return. Normally one would ask reciprocal questions, but you didn't. Why is that, I wonder?"

"Because you'd already told Kid," Kaito shrugged. "and I hear everything he does." The thief took advantage of Saguru's shock and stole a much larger chunk of the cookie than he had dared to before.

"Do you admit it then?" It was too good to be true.

"Admit what?" The brunette took a sip of his friend's tea and the fought hard not to spit it out.

"That you're the Kaitou Kid!" Saguru was about ready to shake his crush in frustration.

"Of course not," the magician chuckled.

"B-but…" Hakuba looked at his companion like Kaito had just informed him that there would be no Christmas this year.

"That tea is nasty. It's nas-tea!" The violet-eyed teen giggled at his own pun while Saguru sat there pouting. "I don't understand how you can drink it."

"Sodding tease," the detective muttered.

…

O . O

=(^o^)= _

Mikau: It's a mouse. Maybe. The nas-tea joke comes from my brother. That's how he refers to the tea our mom drinks. So, none of my students can pronounce "woman" correctly. It always comes out "uman." Most Japanese seem to have that problem. I blame Vermouth and her secrets making a "uman" a "uman." I will henceforth set out on a quest to correct the pronunciation of the entire Japanese population. Please wish me luck. I'll need it. Maybe I could at least fix my students. Thanks for reading!


	14. The Paper Cut

Mikau: Hey everybody. Thanks for coming back to read once again. Special thanks to kakashikrazy256, Aniki-xvi, and crumbthief who reviewed. I have mixed feelings about this chapter. There are some really good parts along with some really bad parts and a lot of parts somewhere in between. Please let me know what you think, if you have time to comment. Either way, I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the plot would probably be a lot more romance-driven than murder-driven.

…

The Paper Cut

Kaito had been practicing a new trick when one of the cards nicked his pointer finger. He hissed at the stinging sensation and clicked his tongue when a thin ribbon of blood started to flow from the wound. Sticking the finger into his mouth and shivering at the unpleasant taste, he made his way to the hall closet where the medical supplies were kept.

The bandages decided that they were going to be cute and play hide and seek with him.

The mildly irritated teen sighed and began to ransack the closet, making a mental note to clean it out and reorganize it the next time he was bored. After all, there really was no reason to keep a bottle of cough syrup that had expired five years prior…or empty tubes of hydrocortisone cream, for that matter.

He stood on tiptoe so that he could search the top shelf, blindly feeling around until his fingers brushed against a paper carton. "Bingo," he whispered around the injured digit that was still in his mouth.

Kaito's smirk faltered when he pulled the box down and saw what was really in his hand.

He blinked.

Kaito had seen boxes like this at the drugstore, but he'd never had any reason to purchase one, having never had a girlfriend. So if the box didn't belong to the hormonal teenager of the house, it must be the home's other occupant's.

He held his breath and checked the date.

It'd been up on the top shelf, hidden from view from even Kaito, so it wasn't like his mom could have seen it either. Perhaps it'd been leftover from when his father was still alive. Did married couples even use these things?

Kaito didn't know, but it didn't matter because the box was brand new.

He sighed.

Scented? Really, Mom?

"Oh, Kaito. I was just coming to talk to you." At the worst possible moment, his mother just happened to come up the stairs, calling out to him in that too cheery voice of hers. "Kanji is coming over for dinner, and I was wondering if—" She stopped as he turned around and she caught sight of the box in his hands. "Oh…I…"

"I was looking for Band-Aids, but… I guess you and that boyfriend of yours are really serious about each other, huh?" Kaito kept his face and voice completely neutral.

"Kaito, Honey, I can explain." A blush of mortification rose in her cheeks.

"You don't have to." He shrugged, faking indifference. "I mean, you're a big girl; you can make your own decisions…. I'm just sorry that I didn't realize you were so lonely."

Chikage bit her lip. "I'm not just doing this for me, you know. Yes, I'm lonely, but you're lonely too, Kaito. Don't think I don't notice just because you always wear that fake grin. I really do think that you need a father; I should have done this sooner."

"I already _have_ a father, and he's a perfectly good one, so I don't see why you feel the need to replace him." It was hard to keep the bite out of his voice.

"Honey, no you don't," she sighed, about ready to either cry or scream. "I know how much you love Toichi, and I know it's hard for you to admit that he's gone, but you've got to let go. It's been almost ten years, Kaito, and your obsession isn't healthy. Toichi was wonderful, but he was just a man. He's not some god that you should worship…. He wouldn't want you to close yourself off like this because of him."

Kaito couldn't think of anything to say.

It hurt.

How could she say that?

Chikage took a deep breath. "Honey, just because you'll have a new father, it doesn't mean you have to forget about Toichi. You could really like Kanji if you'd give him a chance. You two could have a really good relationship too. I don't want you to miss out on that, so…would you please just give him a chance? For me, Kaito…for yourself, please. Just meet him. He's coming over tonight, and—"

"—Sorry, I already made plans to spend the night at a friend's."

She knew better than to believe him. "Oh? Really? Which friend?"

"Kudo Shinichi." Kaito hoped Tantei-kun wouldn't mind. If all else failed, there were always manga cafés.

Chikage sighed. "Kaito…please don't lie to me. I know all of your friends…all one of her."

"I've made some new friends," the teen mumbled, shoving the accursed box into his mother's hands. "His house is in Beika; I'll text you the address." He pushed pass her, headed back to his room to grab an overnight bag.

"Kaito, you're behaving like a child!" The frustration finally made her snap at her son.

"At least I'm not some traitor like you!" he barked over his shoulder, storming off.

000

The teen bit his lip and looked up to keep the tears from falling as he walked to the Mori Detective Agency.

He stared at the door for a minute, composing himself before he knocked. He then shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them from fidgeting while he waited.

"Kaito-san." Ran blinked in surprise at her visitor. "Good afternoon."

"Afternoon, Ran-san." Kaito gave her his best cheerful grin along with a pale pink rosebud. "Can Tantei-kun come out and play?"

"Oh. Thank you. Please come in." The young woman blushed a fetching shade and escorted him inside. "Conan-kun! There's someone here to see you!"

The magician barely discerned a mumbled, "…told those kids I was busy," before the pocket-sized detective turned the corner and saw the identity of his guest.

"Kaito? What's wrong?" The chibi wasted no time in trotting right up to the taller teen, making a show of childishly tugging on Kaito's pant leg for Ran's sake. "Pick me up or come down here."

Was he really that obvious that Shinichi saw through his mask at a single glance?

The thief easily acquiesced to the miniature gumshoe's demands, picking up his friend and holding him tight. "It's silly…a whole lot of nothing, but…I had an argument with my mom, and I can't go home tonight, and I just wanted to see my Shin-chan." Kaito sighed, burying his face in the crook of the older boy's neck.

Conan wrapped his arms around his beloved and gently began stroking Kaito's hair. "Shh, it's okay. There's not really room _here_, but I have a relative we could stay with for the night. Wait here. I'll go get an overnight bag, and then we can go."

Kaito nodded, setting the smaller boy down.

"Not so fast." Ran caught Conan by the back of his collar and lifted him up like a kitten. She glared. "You're not going anywhere until you explain to me why he called you 'Shin-chan.'"

"It's just a nickname, Ran-neechan." The shrimp smiled innocently.

"Yes, but why 'Shin-chan'? Is it short for something?" The glare went from annoyed to 'someone's going to be karate chopped if I don't have a satisfactory answer in the next five seconds.'

"It's short for 'shinigami-chan,'" Kaito informed the martial arts princess, taking Conan from her arms and hugging him to his own chest like a beloved teddy bear. "It fits, doesn't it? People drop dead around him like it's going out of style."

"Oh." Ran blinked, the anger fading only to be replaced by embarrassment. She chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry. I know it's silly, but I thought…n-never mind."

"It's okay." The born-performer smiled, kissing Ran's hand. "If my boyfriend suddenly went off on some case at approximately the same time his cousin showed up to live with me and then he kept stringing me along for an entire year, appearing and disappearing, I would start to suspect the cousin too.

"Though, I have to say, I think I get the better deal. Your Shinichi shrinking into Conan makes him not much to look at. My Tantei-kun suddenly gaining ten years and becoming Shinichi…let's just say that I wouldn't mind. You're going to be a stud when you grow up, aren't you?" Kaito chuckled, nuzzling Conan's hair.

"Kaito!" the young detective whined. "Stop it! She's going to think you're serious, and they're going to arrest you!"

"She knows I'm joking." The magician gave his plush toy a squeeze. "You're, like, one. That'd be gross. I wouldn't consider dating you until you were at least fourteen. Now, go get your bag so that we can go."

"They're never going to let me go anywhere with you if you keep making jokes like that," Conan snorted as he was set down. He turned to Ran. "Ran-neechan, Kaito's weird, but he's not dangerous, so you don't have to worry, okay?" And then the little tantei went off to gather his things.

"So…you were just joking?" The protective older sister eyed their guest with suspicion.

"Yes. Sorry to alarm you, Ran-san, but you may have noticed that I tend to flirt with everyone. Be that as it may, my strike zone is from fourteen up and has a strong female majority. Your little brother is safe for another six years."

"Ah. I see." Ran was not sure how she felt about this Kaito that Conan-kun was associating with.

"Also, I'd like to advise you to get a leash for the next time that your meitantei comes home. I've heard from Tantei-kun; what he does to you isn't fair." Kaito caught and held the gaze of those clear blue eyes. "Women shouldn't be made to endure such heartbreak. You should move on, fall in love with someone new, better…someone that can make you happy. A beautiful girl like you should have no trouble. If Shinichi truly cared for you, he'd want you to forget about him too. I know you can't just forget and move on at the drop of a hat, but…think about it, okay? You _deserve_ to be happy."

"Kaito, are you seducing my big sister in my absence?" Conan glared at the thief upon noticing the star-struck look in Ran's eyes.

"Not on purpose." The magician shrugged. "I was just telling her that she should forget about Shinichi and fall for someone that can make her happy. Don't you think that's best?"

Conan hummed in thought as he was lifted into Kaito's arms. He looked at Ran and nodded. "Yeah. Kaito's right. It's probably for the best, Ran-neechan." And then the small fry quickly added, "but not with him. Kaito's mine." Conan gave a childish pout, throwing his arms around his crush's neck.

"In six years." The indigo-eyed boy chuckled as he made his way out the door, wishing the Moris a good day.

…

:)i(:

Mikau: It's a butterfly! So, my students discovered my hair today. It's very fine, thin, and light brown. It sounds better in Japanese: kitsune iro (fox-colored). Apparently it's a whole lot softer than their hair, so they all had to touch and squeal about it. It was kind of adorable, kind of frightening to have about ten girls all touching my hair. Needless to say, we didn't do a whole lot in class today, but they asked me a ton of personal questions in English, so it was okay. Thank you so much for continuing to read. Please drop me a comment, if you feel so compelled. I'm always interested to know what people thought was interesting or lame. I'm sure there's a whole lot of both in this chapter.


	15. Teddy Bear Duty

Mikau: Hey everyone. Thanks for tuning in again. Thank you also to Aniki-xvi, kakashikrazy256, and crumbthief who reviewed. The next few chapters are going to be really over-the-top dramatic, so prepare yourselves. I'll try to get them out quickly, but it's going to be all drama, all the time for the next week or so. You've been warned. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the next couple updates.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I probably wouldn't have thought to base the Shounen Tanteidan's character designs on the Doraemon crew.

…

Teddy Bear Duty

"You know where the Kudo Mansion is?" Conan asked absentmindedly, adjusting his arms around Kaito's neck.

"Mmhm." The thief nodded.

"The place I told Ran we would be staying—Agasa Hakase's—is right next door. I'll have to call him and get our story straight, but he'll cover for us."

Usually Conan loathed being carried like some toddler, but with Kaito, it was nice. He liked Kaito's scent, his warmth, the feel of the magician's skin against his own. He longed to have his own body so that _he_ could hold the other teen for once.

"Speaking of getting stories straight, that was some quick thinking with the whole 'shinigami-chan' thing," the boy-genius chuckled, trying to keep his mind from going places it shouldn't until he'd reached puberty.

"Not really." Kaito bit his lip. "Sometimes it's short for Shinichi, but most of the time it really _is_ shinigami. I'd just chosen to keep that little fact private up until that point."

The little bloodhound snorted. "And now it's not going to make me half as happy when you call me that from now on."

"Aw, I'm sorry, Shin-chan." Kaito smiled, setting his friend down so that Conan could open the door to the gigantic house.

Conan returned the grin.

It was good to see the prankster smile like that. He'd been wearing that fake grin of his like a lifejacket since he'd arrived at the detective agency, but now there was a real smile on the magician's face.

"Call me what you will; I'll just pretend that it's always short for Shinichi." He pointed to the left once they were in the entranceway. "The living room is that way, if you want to wait there while I make us some hot chocolate. You don't have to take your shoes off since it's a western-style house."

Kaito nodded and went to investigate the lavish home.

Conan found him staring at the portrait above the fireplace when he returned with the promised beverages. "Mom had that painted when I was fourteen the first time around. Had to stand still for what felt like days."

"My family got one done when I was five." Kaito smiled at a fond memory. "I don't remember the actual painting of the portrait, but I remember my dad telling me about how much I squirmed. He told me that he had to bribe me with candy and magic to make me sit still."

It was quiet, and for the first time, the silence was uncomfortable between them.

"Kaito, did you want to talk about it? If you'd rather not, we could always play some kind of game, watch TV, or just talk about something else," Conan offered, not wanting to be too pushy but still wishing to help.

The taller brunette sighed and took a seat on the sofa beside his small host. He sighed again and moved Conan to his lap, holding him in teddy bear position. "Okay, don't laugh, but it's this stupid paper cut that I got when I was trying out this new trick." He indicated the little slice taken out of his left hand. "It's not like it was serious or anything, but I wanted to keep practicing without getting blood all over the place, so I went to get a bandage for it, only I couldn't find the Band-Aids.

"I was looking in the closet, and I found my mom and her boyfriend's supplies. I hadn't realized that they were that physically intimate already, and she just picked that moment to come to tell me that he was coming over for dinner. She started talking about how I need a new father and how my obsession with Dad is unhealthy, and I called her a traitor, and now I'm here."

He rested his head against Conan's, and the boy could feel his friend's tears running down his own neck.

"I know that I'm in the wrong, Shin-chan, but what am I going to do? Even if it is true, she shouldn't have said that. She said that I don't have a father, but I _do_. I _do_."

"You want to know what I think, Kaito?" the detective whispered, gently stroking the thief's arm in an attempt at comforting the other teen.

"Un."

"You're not going to like it, but just listen a bit, okay? I'm on _your_ side, so keep an open mind. Understand?" He'd have to be gentle, tactful, to avoid hurting the kaitou.

"Un," Kaito sniffled.

"Okay. For all intents and purposes, according to society, you _don't_ have a father anymore."

Kaito almost protested, but then he remembered what Conan had said and bit his tongue.

"When your mother says that she wants you to have a father, she means that she wants you to have a living, breathing person to talk with, consult, about male things. She wants you to have support, backup, someone that may have experienced things that you're going to go through. Your mother wants you to have someone you can always go to for help. That's what she means when she says she wants you to have a father."

Here Kaito almost interrupted again, but, instead, he sighed in frustration and gave Conan a squeeze.

"Now, _I_ understand that Toichi-san already fulfills that role sufficiently for you. _I_ know that what he taught you guides you and reassures you through life, but other people can't understand having that deep of a bond with someone. They just don't get it, and there's no way for them to. They'd think you were nuts if you told them that your father is very much alive and well, if only inside of your heart and mind.

"So…my advice for you: make your mother happy. You in no way have to give up your bond with Toichi-san. You don't even have to like the new guy, but meet him. Get to know him. Make sure that he's worthy of your mom, and, if he is, if he makes her happy, tolerate him. Let him play father if he's so disposed, but know that that doesn't mean that he's taking Toichi-san's place. Does that make sense? What are you thinking?"

Kaito was quiet for a minute, letting everything sinking in. Then he nodded. "Okay. Yeah, I get it. So…I meet this guy, and what happens if he's no good for my mom? What do I do?"

"Tell her that, but make sure she understands that it's because you disapprove of the person himself, not the fact that she's dating. Make sure she knows that you're open to the idea of her having someone new in her life, and then tell her that her boyfriend's a slug."

"Okay." Kaito chewed absentmindedly on his lip. "I think that I can do this. Thanks, Shin-chan. You're a good therapist."

"I try." He grinned and patted the thief reassuringly on the arm. "I'm glad I could help."

Kaito's small smile faltered when he thought of something. "Hey, Shinichi? So…what if Mom gets remarried and has another kid? I mean…I think she's still got a few more years left where she could, but…what if…what if she decides she likes the new kid better than her old, traumatized, felon one? What if she likes her new family better than her old, broken one? I don't want to be thrown away."

Conan opened his mouth to assure his friend that that would never happen, but he closed it again quickly. He'd seen many cases of children from previous marriages abused, cast out, or even murdered by new fathers who preferred their own. There were plenty of mothers who did the same in order to leave their pasts behind.

But Kaito didn't need to hear that.

"I think you should tell your mother how you feel. She probably has no idea what's going through your head right now, and I think she could alleviate your fears better than I could. Chances are things will be just fine. Even if she does have another child, you would probably come to love it just as much as its parents. The Shounen Tantei told me about their time with you on Trap Island; I think you'd make a pretty cool, overprotective big brother. Don't worry so much, Kaito. Everything is going to be fine."

The magician took a deep cleansing breath and then let it out. "Okay. Tomorrow. I'll talk to her tomorrow." He pulled out his phone and typed a quick text to his mom with the Kudos' address and a short note that said: 'Sorry for being an angsty, teenage brat. We'll talk tomorrow, so have fun tonight. Love you.'

Kaito then placed Conan on the couch beside him and smiled. "Got any tissues?"

The master detective chuckled at his love and then went to fetch the Kleenex box.

Truthfully Kaito's face was a mess, but he looked endearing all puffy-eyed and red-faced. It was cute to see the normally calm, composed, in-control phantom thief vulnerable. It inspired protective instincts in the shrunken sleuth.

Even better than Kaito's crying face was Kaito's sleeping face.

The magician had insisted that they sleep together.

It was a sleepover after all, and there was no point in Conan sleeping in Shinichi's room while Kaito used the guestroom. You were supposed to lie together in futons on the floor and whisper and giggle into the early morning.

Kaito had never had a sleepover before, and he wanted to do it right.

Of course, there was also no point in them sleeping in futons on the floor when there was a perfectly good bed that could accommodate both of them in Shinichi's room, so that's where they were. However, Kaito had fallen asleep as soon as his head had hit the pillow, and that had left Conan to contemplate his bedmate's face.

And what a face it was—absolutely perfect in every way for a thief such as Kaito. He was the picture of androgyny. All of his features were designed so that he could add or subtract at will to create a different character, a new disguise.

Kaito's face was not too round but not too angular—not too soft, nor too hard. It didn't look delicate, but it wasn't rough either. It was perfect for playing both male and female roles.

He had gorgeous eyes and finely plucked eyebrows. His eyelashes were normal, but he could easily wear falsies if he wanted to play some coy little thing with batting eyes. His nose was a good size, and by Jove, the man exfoliated.

Conan had to scold himself to keep from touching that lovely skin. It _looked_ soft, but he wanted nothing more than to confirm it with his own fingers.

The hair looked soft too. He'd had moments where he was able to sneak a touch—such as when comforting the thief before—but what he really wanted to do was freely run his hands through that chocolate brown hair. He wanted to entwine his fingers in it as their bodies melted together in a whirl of—Whoa there.

'_Down boy. You're eight. Think eight-ish thoughts. Nope. No good.'_ His mind _was_ that of a horny teenager sleeping in the same bed as his crush, after all.

Kaito's teasing on a regular basis really did nothing to help either. Even though Shinichi knew that the magician-thief was one big flirt, it still felt real. The smiles, the snuggling, the pet names…Kaito might just be doing it because Conan looked eight—innocent, cute, harmless—but Shinichi couldn't help but take it the wrong way when they were in the moment together. Sure he could later reason out that Kaito was an f-ing tease, but when it was happening, it felt real, and Shinichi couldn't help but want it to be.

Shinichi shook his head to clear his thoughts, and Conan went back to studying Kaito while he did teddy bear duty.

…

E(^j^)3

Mikau: It's an Indian elephant. So, on the street on which I live, there's a sushi place called Hattori, a beauty salon called Akemi, and a bentou store called Jihei (it's the same kanji as in Heiji's name, only with the order switched). Also, in my office, Takagi-sensei and Satou-sensei's desks face each other. Only Satou-sensei's male. I keep almost calling Takagi-sensei Takagi-_keiji_. It's going to happen one of these days, and everyone's going to laugh at me. On a different note, I successfully answered the phone and relayed calls in Japanese today. I was proud, since I hate speaking on the phone even in English. Thank you for reading.


	16. Schism

Mikau: Greetings! Thanks for your continued patronage! Thank you as well to Sirastar, Aniki-xvi, and kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. I'm glad that everyone seemed to like the last chapter. Today we have more drama, this time of the HakuKai variety. Unfortunately, the Kaito and Chikage talk is short and not exactly what I wanted, but, you know. I hope it's not too disappointing. Please enjoy anyway.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Haibara would have come in a lot sooner. You can tell Aoyama-sensei had her planned from the beginning because Akemi shows up in the second volume. She would have advanced the plot a lot faster. Just my opinion.

…

Schism

Hakuba sidled up to Kaito's desk after school the next day, a charming smirk on his face. He looked a little bit like he was trying to impress a girl he was into. "So, Kuroba, I was wondering…" He trailed off. His brow furrowed, and he lost the smooth tone of voice. "Did you switch shampoos?"

"You were wondering…if I switched shampoos? That was your burning question?" Kaito gave his classmate a funny look.

"Ah…no." The blonde blushed. "It's just…normally you smell like warm vanilla sugar from Bath and Body Works, but today it's something cinnamon-y."

The magician gaped. "How do you know where I get my shampoo? Do you smell me often, Hakuba?"

"N-no!" Yes, but he wasn't about to admit it. "For researching purposes. I wanted to know if you smelled the same as the Kid…which you don't. Bath and Body Works was a guess. Baaya gets hand soap from there, and you smell the same, so…"

"Oh. Okay." The class clown seemed to take that as an acceptable answer. "No, I didn't switch. I spent the night with a friend, so I used theirs."

Hakuba's jaw dropped, and his tawny eyes went wide. "You and Aoko-kun…?"

"No!" Kaito hissed. "Kudo Shinichi."

This got an even more ridiculous reaction from the detective. "You and Kudo-san…?"

"NOT. LIKE. THAT. Just _talking_ and _sleeping_. No funny business. Geez." The magician rolled his eyes and shook his head. "So…you were wondering…?"

"Right!" The Brit quickly regained his composure. "I was wondering if you'd be up to checking out this sushi restaurant by the station with me. They just opened, so they're having a special right now."

"Oh?" Kaito tried his best to keep from twitching at the word 'sushi,' but not even his poker face could fight against the terror that those swimming things instilled in him.

Saguru saw the brief flash of disgust on the magician's face and, not knowing about his crush's ichthyophobia, interpreted it badly. "I mean, only if you feel like it."

"Actually, I have other plans today. Sorry." Even if it wasn't sushi, he really did need to talk to his mom.

"Okay then," Hakuba replied in a small voice. At least Kuroba had turned him down politely instead of mocking and ridiculing, as was his usual fair. Though, rejection was still rejection.

Kaito caught the 'kicked puppy' look on the sleuth's face and quickly grabbed his friend's shoulder, making the blonde face him. "Oi, don't think I'm blowing you off just 'cause you're stalking—I'm sorry—_researching_ me. I really do have plans. I sort of ran off on my mom last night, and I promised her that we would talk after I got home today. We're kind of overdue for a heart-to-heart. Can I have a rain check for tomorrow?" The magician gave his classmate one of his famous, toothpaste-commercial grins.

Saguru smiled back, relieved. "Sure."

"Ah." Kaito grimaced again. "But…sushi is a little…" He pointed to his nose and looked away sheepishly. "Ichthyophobe."

"Ooooh." The detective nodded in understanding. "That makes more sense now. So, before, that look was 'eww, sushi,' not 'eww, Saguru?'"

Kaito blushed, and Saguru's heart nearly exploded. "Sorry, Hakuba. I didn't mean to, but it's kind of a knee-jerk reaction."

"Don't worry about it." The detective smiled, glad that he hadn't made a mess of his chances with the brunette. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"See ya," the violet-blue-eyed boy promised with a grin.

000

"So, I'm sorry for the way I acted, but do you understand why now?" Kaito gave his mother the puppy-dog eyes—a technique that he had reinvented.

"Kaito, Honey, I would never throw you out." Chikage nearly tackled her son, giving him a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea that you were feeling that way. You never talk to me, so I never know."

"I'll work on that in the future," he quietly promised. "So…I'll meet this guy, but if I don't like him, I'm not going to pretend to. I'll play nice for your sake, but don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy with him. Make sure he knows that I don't want to be friends."

"Fair enough, Kai-chan." His mother smiled, patting him on the head. "And, who knows? You may just end up liking him after all."

000

"Nice disguise," Saguru chuckled as 'Kuroba Kaito' took a seat on his couch.

"Why, thank you," Kid trilled, posing to show off his costume.

"You look just like the real thing; I could kiss you," Hakuba teased.

"I'm flattered, Saguru, but please refrain." The kaitou laughed that inexplicably infectious chuckle. "Besides, I hear that kissing latex isn't very satisfying."

"Like that's latex," the detective snorted fondly, pinching the thief's cheek. His eyes went wide when his fingertips touched mask where he'd expected skin.

A hurt expression took over his face, and he looked away, mumbling, "Why are you wearing a mask?"

"You told me to disguise myself as Kuroba Kaito, did you not? How else am I to accomplish it, if not with a mask?" Kid's voice was calm, level.

"You could have just come as is. It's not as if you need a mask to disguise yourself _as_ yourself. You're wearing a mask because you don't trust me." The words cut like scimitars through both of them.

"I'm not Kuro—"

"—Like bloody hell you're not!" the Brit snapped, biting his lip to keep the tears of outrage at bay. "I know, okay? I've always bloody well known, Kuroba, and I'd thank you to stop insulting my intelligence by pretending that I don't."

He took a breath to keep from choking on his words, and then he continued. "'Proof?' you ask? I don't need proof anymore. I'm done trying to expose you; this is just for me now. I know it's you. It's obvious! You may have thought that you were being careful, but I'm observant, and you've let things slip. There are too many similarities—your smile, your laugh, your eyes…the way you always pat me on the head… I know that touch. It's the _same_."

"Calm down, Detective," Kid endeavored to placate his friend in a soothing tone. "Could it possibly be that you wish it to be true, so you're unconsciously twisting facts to suit your theories?"

"No," Saguru snapped. "Answer me this. Today after school, Kaito accused me of stalking him, but then he said, 'I'm sorry—_researching_.' Please tell me, how could he know about a private joke between the two of _us_, if you and he are not the same person?"

The phantom shrugged. "I can offer no excuses on his behalf. Why don't you ask _him_?"

The sleuth suppressed a growl of frustration. "We're friends, right?"

"Yes."

"Then…why don't you trust me?" he whispered, screwing his eyes closed to hide the tears in the corners.

"I'm here, aren't I? I keep coming back. I trust you not to call the police and betray me. I trust you that much. Is that not enough?" Kid's words were an emotionless whispered, poker face in full effect.

"N-no, it's not." He couldn't stop them anymore, and the tears began to fall. "You just showing up isn't the same as me laying my soul bare before you. I've answered you honestly everything you've asked me. I admit to fudging the truth occasionally when it was too embarrassing or painful to say, but ninety-five to ninety-eight percent of everything I've ever told you has been absolute truth.

"How often have you been that honest with me? Eighty percent of the time? Fifty? Twenty-five? Have you been truthful with me even ten percent of the time, Kid?

"What we have isn't friendship, Mr. Phantom Thief; it's called pity and self-satisfaction. You're here for yourself. You've said it before—I make heists more interesting. If I'm not there, you can't get as much of an adrenaline rush. You didn't let me cuff you for my sake; you did it for yourself.

"You're only here because you pity me. I'm a charity case that you took on to make yourself feel better. Does it make you feel good to know that someone as pathetic as me exists? Is it fun for you to laugh at the poor friendless nerd behind his back? Is it funny listening to him talk about how his parents don't care about him? Or how he thinks he doesn't need friends because he has his books, his housekeeper, and his pet falcon? Does his misery amuse you? Do you feel good about yourself when you pretend to be his friend, gracing his wretched existence with your presence?"

"Saguru, none of that's true," Kid insisted vehemently. It was excruciatingly painful to hear his friend say such things, but he had no idea how to make it better. "I'm here because I care about you. I want to be your friend, I just don't know how."

"You could start by being honest with me," the detective choked. "Tell me the truth. I already know, and it's not like I'd do anything with that knowledge anyway, so say it. Show me that you trust me just that tiny bit. I'm not asking you for your deepest, darkest secrets…just your name, so say it. Say it or leave."

The kaitou took a deep breath. He opened his mouth, but nothing happened. He stood, taking another deep breath.

Seconds passed, but there was nothing but silence, Saguru's sniffles, and Kid's breathing.

He turned around, facing away from his rival. "I… My…name… My name is…"

The thief sighed and turned back around. "I can't, Saguru…because I'm _not_."

And then the man wearing the face of Kuroba Kaito was gone, and in his place was a single blue rose.

….

S It's a snake! Just kidding: ~—( ^ )~

Mikau: So, please don't be too mad at Kaito. He'll explain himself next time, so please suspend your judgment. Blue roses symbolize the impossible or unattainable, by the way. In other news, I'm leaving Japan on White Day, just a month exactly before the new Conan movie comes out. Guess who's absolutely incensed over this? However, the Doraemon movie comes out in like a week. Maybe I'll go see that for my birthday. Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think, if you have a minute.


	17. Reaching an Understanding

Mikau: Hey everyone! Thanks for coming back for more. Thank you also to Aniki-xvi and kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. Sorry for keeping you in suspense; here's the big reveal.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd make sure the people who got casted to speak in English could actually speak English. It's an issue when I have no trouble understanding the Japanese, but as soon as someone speaks "English" I have to look at the subtitles. Anyone else see the irony in the situation?

…

Reaching an Understanding

Hakuba slumped in his desk, kicking himself for his punctuality. He should have come in late so as to avoid having to talk to Kuroba. Now he was stuck waiting, dreading the arrival of the magician.

He should have taken Baaya up on her offer of letting him stay home. Apparently his complexion was blotchy and his eyes were red. He looked sick, and it was easy to discern that he had been crying. A lot.

Saguru looked down and pretended to be studying when he heard several of his other classmates greet Kaito. He was surprised when he found a hand in his book, blocking the text. When he looked up, he was met with the magician-thief's weary face.

Kuroba looked exhausted.

"You look like a reanimated corpse, Hakuba," Kaito remarked teasingly. "What's wrong? You sick?"

"You're looking rather marvelous yourself," the teenage detective mumbled, looking down.

Kaito straddled the chair of the desk in front of Hakuba's so that they'd be on the same level. "I stayed up late last night arguing with myself. I'm a stubborn idiot, so it took a while. You?"

Saguru kept his gaze down at the book in front of him. "I got into a fight with someone important to me."

"I'm sorry." It was more a show of sympathy than an apology.

"It was my fault." The blonde shook his head with a sigh. "I got upset over nothing, and I was being pushy. It was absolute stupidity on my part. I let my emotions get the best of me, and I said some unnecessary things."

"Don't beat yourself up over it." Kaito leaned in, lowering and tilting his head at an angle so that their gazes would meet. He smiled reassuringly. "People do that, you know? It means you're human. I'm sure your friend will understand when you guys talk about it."

It was too cruel, Kuroba sitting there comforting him like he'd had nothing to do with it.

Hakuba shook his head and averted his eyes. "I doubt he'll still want to be friends after everything that I said, so now I don't have friends anymore…again."

Kaito sighed in frustration, as if to say, "I can't believe what a dunce you're being."

He reached out and grabbed Hakuba by the jaw, forcing the detective to meet his gaze. "Saguru, you still have me, don't you?"

The blonde stared wide-eyed at the magician, cheeks turning bubblegum pink. "'S-Saguru?'"

"Mmhm. What? You forget your name? Please don't tell me that you have amnesia," the prankster sighed, oozing melodrama.

"N-no."

"Good." A single red rose appeared out of nowhere and ended up in Hakuba's hand. "Then you remember that we have a date today after school." Kaito patted his classmate playfully on the head and then went off to take his own seat, leaving the blonde's mind totally scrambled.

000

"So…where are we going today?" The magician bounded up to the sleuth's desk before the bell had even finished ringing.

"If you're interested, there's this cheap crêpe stand in Yoyogi Park. They have a double chocolate chip, fudge brownie crêpe that I think you'd like." Saguru could almost visibly see Kaito's ears twitch at the mention of chocolate.

"And what are we waiting for?" The magician practically dragged his friend out the door.

Once at the park, Kaito demanded that Saguru lead the way and be quick about it.

When the coveted crêpes had been obtained, they sat by the fountain and ate them in relative silence (since the brunette was too caught up in his prize to carry on much of a conversation). After they finished, the mischief-maker started to show off some of his simpler magic tricks. This inevitably attracted a small crowd.

Kaito preformed for about twenty minutes before calling it a day, grabbing Saguru by the arm and tugging him through the gathering of onlookers.

They walked around the grounds for a good thirty minutes more, just talking before it started to get dark.

There was a lull in conversation, and Hakuba found himself with enough courage to say: "I was wondering if you would discuss something with me."

"Hm?" Kaito peered back over his shoulder, cocking his head to the side. "What is it?"

"It's just something I've observed from your interactions with me and others, but…you seem to have some major trust issues."

Kaito stopped in his tracks.

"You're very outgoing," Saguru continued, "and many people like you, but you have only one or two people that you could call friends. You're secretive, and you try to keep everyone at arm's length." He took a breath and prayed that he didn't start another argument. "I was wondering why. I mean, do you even trust me?"

The magician sighed in frustration. "God. Not this 'do you trust me' bit again."

"Again?" Hakuba blinked. "Kuroba, you and I have never had this conversation before. Though, strangely enough, I did happen to have a similar discussion with the Kaitou Kid just last night. Would you like to share something with me pertaining to a connection between the two of you?"

"Look," Kaito turned on his friend and growled. "I'm sick of this, Saguru. I'm tired of you always talking to me like I'm some kind of felon! The only thing I'm guilty of is having that nutcase live inside my head!"

As soon as the words had left his mouth, Kaito's face twisted into a look of horror.

Saguru's expression quite mirrored his own.

"Oh my god," Kuroba hissed. "I did _not_ just say that." He pointed a figure accusatorily at his companion. "_You_ did not just hear that."

"You have a multiple personality disorder," the detective mumbled.

"Dammit. Nine _years_ I keep it secret, and within a _month_ of getting a friend it slips," Kaito grumbled, collapsing onto a nearby park bench.

"This…changes things considerably." Saguru was still trying to wrap his mind around it. "I'm sorry. You really were telling the truth. You're not the Kaitou Kid, are you?"

"How could I be? I'm not even really 'Kuroba Kaito,'" the brunette sighed, looking up at his friend with those big, soulful eyes, begging him to understand.

The blonde took a seat beside the shorter teen. "You're not?"

'Kaito' shook his head. "Not the first one, anyway."

Hakuba nodded. "Oh."

There was silence while both boys got their thoughts in order.

"Would…would you be willing to talk to me about it?" the Englishman asked tentatively.

The boy he had known as Kuroba sighed. "You know what? Yeah. I think I would like to talk about it. It'd probably be good to get it off my chest, but…could we maybe go to your house or something? Somewhere more private. Nine years is a long time to keep things bottled up, and I don't want to start bawling in public or anything."

"Of course," Saguru responded quietly, getting to his feet.

The walk to the Hakuba Estate was passed in silence as each boy tried to piece together what he was going to say.

When they arrived, they went up to Saguru's room and took a seat on the couch as the detective and Kid usually did.

The brunette was the first to speak. "So…Dad died on stage during one of his performances. Hard thing for a nine year-old to see. Of course there was therapy, but that wasn't enough to make the pain of losing Dad any less. It didn't take away the memories of what happened. Kaito never cried. He wouldn't eat, couldn't sleep…he was like a little zombie. The pain was just too much for him to handle by himself…so that's where I came in.

"We shared the burden. When it got to be too much for him, I would take over, and he would retreat to the back of our mind where he didn't have to deal with any of it. When it got to be too much for me, Kaito would take control again. That's how we survived."

Hakuba was hesitant to interrupt. "I beg your pardon, but…if you're not Kuroba Kaito, who are you? Do you have some other name that you go by?"

The magician smiled. "I'm Kaito 2.0. You can just call me 'Kaito,' though.

"I've done some research, and I've found out that Kaito, Kid, and I are a little different than most cases of multiple personalities. We're not completely separate individuals. I'm totally cognizant of everything the other two do and say. Kaito, Kid, and I are more like facets of each other than anything else.

"_I'm_ the one in control most of the time." He looked a little sad at this. "Even with my help, Kaito just kept getting weaker and weaker. The amount of time he could remain in control decreased, and now he's just a little voice in the back of my mind. I've been in control for right about eight years now. Pretty soon I _will_ be the real Kuroba Kaito."

"And…what does the other Kaito think about that?" Hakuba prodded lightly.

Kaito shrugged. "He doesn't care. He's content to watch life from behind my eyes."

"Are…you two very different?" Saguru asked with more confidence. Kaito didn't seem to mind his questions.

"Not really. I told you before, didn't I? I haven't changed much since I was little. He's just a little more innocent…sensitive too. He's cute. Kind of clingy, though. Kaito gets attached really easily. He's very fond of you."

"Oh really?" The Brit fought back the blush threatening to expose him.

"Mmhm. He trusts you." The warm, fond smile on Kaito's face made the detective fall even deeper in love.

"And…what of Kid? How did he come into being?"

The magician winced. "About a year ago Kaito and I found out about Dad's secret. We learned that he had been murdered, and we discovered that the man we had respected and loved more than anything was a thief. I broke." The last two words were barely a whisper. "Kid was born to protect me as I had been to protect Kaito."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Saguru tentatively placed a hand reassuringly on the other boy's shoulder.

"I know, but I don't need to be protected. I'm strong enough to handle things on my own," the normally impish boy grumbled.

It was good to see him showing some genuine emotion for once.

Hakuba was secretly pleased that the thief had opened up to him enough to drop the ever-cheerful act.

"You're strong alright, but it's nice to have backup to support you from time to time."

"Yeah," Kaito sighed, stretching his arms above his head as he leaned back into the sofa pillows. "but he's such a weirdo. You've met him. God, the things he says."

Hakuba nodded. "Indeed. He's very…unique."

"Tell me about it," the brunette chuckled. "Oh. Hey. Speaking of things that people say, put me through a mattress will you?"

Saguru's face turned neon red. "Ah…uh…n-no. I…was joking."

"Su~re you were." Kaito rolled his eyes, delighting in his companion's discomfort. "By the way, if this" (Here he pointed back and forth between the two of them.) "were to happen, I'd top."

"Now wait just a minute. Who's to say that I'd let you?" He'd let Kuroba do whatever he wanted, but it wasn't like Saguru was going to admit to it.

"Oh, you would." The magician shrugged. "We'd fight about it for a while, but since I have a stronger personality, I'd come out on top…literally."

"Are you saying that I'm a push-over?" Hakuba couldn't help but feel that he was being insulted.

"_Please_, Saguru. If our personalities were hot sauce, you'd be mild, and I'd be fire."

The detective could come up with no response. "Do you think that we could switch it up occasionally?"

"Perhaps." Kaito smirked evilly before breaking out into giggles. "I can't believe we're talking about this."

"What would you like to talk about then?" Saguru smiled warmly at his love interest, glad to see the boy's walls down.

Kaito gave the blonde a gauging look. "Us. How are we going to play this friendship thing now that you know pretty much everything? I mean, there's the relationship between you and me, but there's also your friendship and professional relationship with Kid to consider."

Hakuba thought for a moment. "I don't see why anything has to change now that I know. You and I can hang out after school like we have been, and Kid can come to visit like before. I'll keep trying to catch him, but he doesn't have to stay caught afterwards. Is that satisfactory?"

"Un." The magician-thief smirked. "I'm really glad that we got this sorted out. It feels good to share secrets with someone, you know? You get tired of lying all of the time."

"I can't imagine," Saguru replied pensively.

"I hope you never find out." Kaito patted his friend on the head and stood. "I should get going; Mom'll have dinner on the table soon, and I don't want to have to call and tell her I'll be late because I'm hanging out with" And then he switched to what Hakuba presumed was Kuroba Chikage's voice. "'that crazy detective brat that's trying to put you behind bars!'"

"Goodness. Does she say that _every_ time that she refers to me?" the detective chuckled.

"Yep. I keep trying to convince her that 'Hakuba' is shorter, but she'll have none of it. I'm sure she'll come to like you once she knows you as a person, though." The brunette smiled, and suddenly Saguru found the world a little brighter.

"I hope so." The blonde grinned and showed his guest to the door.

…

$(^.^)$ They're pigtails. Which my mother says I'm too old to wear anymore.

Mikau: So, there you have it. Hands up. Who was surprised? I was too when Kaito told me about two weeks ago. Speaking of surprises, I received a very nice one yesterday when I went to the Book Off near Chiyokawa. I found four of the Detective Conan novels for 105 yen a piece (they're 686 new and usually 350 used), so I was absolutely delighted. (Unfortunately, there's no furigana, so I'm going to have to look up the kanji I don't know the hard way.) Anyway, that's not the surprise. I went to the counter and started counting out 420 yen, and the clerk said "Four items, 210 yen." My first thought was, "Honma ni?" (Because I've started thinking in a Kansai accent.) I paused, briefly considered the option that my Japanese was terrible and I had misunderstood the simple transaction, and then set down 210 yen. I smiled, thanked the guy, and left. My receipt really does say four items for 210 yen. There was no sale or anything, so I don't know why I got them half off when they were already a steal, but…I got $35 worth of books for $3. I'll consider it a cosmic early birthday present. Thank you for reading.


	18. Moving On

Mikau: Hi everybody. Thanks for returning once more. Thanks also to icarusdg, Sirastar, and kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. When I was writing this chapter, I hated it to no end. In fact, up until two minutes ago when I finished rereading through it one final time, I thought it was the worst chapter ever. Now I think it's just so-so. Hopefully you'll like it more than I do. If you could please do me the favor of reviewing for this chapter, I would really appreciate it, since I'm so lacking in confidence in this one.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Ran's hair would never have become so pointy. Seriously, if she's not careful, she's going to put someone's eye out one of these days.

…

Moving On

Conan needed to see Kaito—desperately so. If he didn't see his thief soon, he didn't know what would happen. Forget the fact that it had only been a grand total of two days since the teen's last visit. Conan needed Kaito _now_.

Unfortunately, the city didn't own a Kid signal that the young sleuth could utilize, and the two had never exchanged contact information, so Conan had no way of reaching his beloved.

The shrunken detective racked his mind for another way until he finally came up with a solution. The only thing Conan knew for sure about his crush was the school which he attended, so that was where our little protagonist went—Ekoda High.

He stood out by the front gate and waited, frantically searching the surging crowd of students for a familiar face. He was out there for about fifteen minutes before he started to attract attention.

A group of male students was the first to actually approach.

"If you're waiting for Kuroba, it'll be another ten minutes at least," a student carrying a sports bag informed him. "He always has to flirt with his boyfriend before he goes home."

"B-boyfriend?" Conan blinked, his heart constricting.

"Yeah. That Hakuba Saguru git," another boy snickered.

"Hey. You shouldn't say stuff like that to little kids," a third piped up as the group started to walk away. "Besides, we all know that Kuroba's not…like _that_."

''_Kuroba,' huh?'_ The grade schooler frowned. He told himself to remain calm. After all, there was no proof that this Kuroba person who was supposedly involved with the British detective actually _was_ his thief.

Next up was a gaggle of giggling school girls. They squealed when they saw him, coming over for a closer look.

"Are you Kaito-sama's little brother?" one asked as the others 'kyaa'-ed.

"Do you think that's what he looked like at that age?"

"He was so cuuuuute!"

Conan may have squeaked slightly when they picked him up and began poking at him.

"What's going on?" A pigtailed girl with glasses asked, pushing her way to the center of the crowd. She smiled when she saw Conan. Taking him in her hands, she turned and shouted, "Kaito-kuuuuuun! You have a visitor!" She held him up like a trophy.

The young boy almost cried in relief when he saw his beloved racing to his rescue.

"Geez, Keiko," Kaito snorted. "He's not a stuffed animal you can wave around like that. Give him here."

The former teenager latched on tight to his crush as soon as he was safely in the magician's arms.

"Look. You scared him," his knight in shining armor scolded.

"Kaito, who is that?" A new face joined the group, peering curiously at Conan. She looked like Ran.

"Edogawa Conan. He's the kid that chases Kid around with Saguru and your dad." Kaito's grip tightened protectively around the little body in his embrace.

The gumshoe's ears started to burn at the use of Hakuba's first name with no honorific. When did that happen?

"How do you know him?" the Ran-lookalike pressed.

"We met at a heist," Kaito replied vaguely, starting to walk away. "I'll call you later, Aoko. I should be getting this little guy home."

Once they were a safe distance away, the magician slowed his pace from a trot to a walk. "Hey there, Shin-chan," he whispered. "You okay? They didn't traumatize you too bad, did they? High school girls tend to pounce on adorable small things."

"Am I adorable?" the chibi chuckled darkly.

"Absolutely," Kaito tittered. "So…you came to my school. Need something from me?"

"Just you," Conan whispered, resting his head against the other boy's neck. "Rough couple of days and no one to talk to about it."

"Wanna come over to my house?" the younger teen offered. "I'll make you coffee, and you can tell me all about it. Then I'll do magic tricks until you feel better."

"Coffee?" That made his ears perk up. "I love you, Kaito."

The magician laughed at the response. "And I love you, Shin-chan."

Shinichi's heart melted at the words.

Kaito sighed as he nuzzled Conan's hair. "You know, we won't be able to do things like this for much longer…me carrying you around and stuff. You're going to get big soon, and one of these days you're going to be even bigger than me."

"If only I were regular-sized now," the former Heisei Holmes sighed. "Then _I_ could carry _you_ around like a teddy bear."

"Shinichi isn't _that_ much bigger than I am," Kaito snorted. "Besides, it would be weird for an eighteen year-old to carry another one around. It'd feel awkward."

Kaito obviously didn't realize that even though Shinichi was in the body of an eight year-old, his brain was still every bit that of a teenager's.

"Then you'll just have to enjoy me to your heart's content while I'm still in this body," Conan sighed.

"Oh, believe me. I will." The way Kaito said it made Shinichi want to push him down and ravish him on the spot.

'_Curse this useless body.'_

"We're here!" Kaito sang, going up the walk of a quaint home of a moderate size. Once inside, he took off Conan's shoes, replacing them with slippers, and set the boy down on the couch in the living room. "Be right back with coffee. Make yourself comfortable."

The pint-sized sleuth muttered a quick "thanks" and began taking in his surroundings.

The Kuroba house was homey, very lived-in. Pictures covered almost every available surface, and the various furnishings exuded personality. It was very different from his own austere abode.

"One cup coffee, black," the joker chuckled, setting down a mug on the table in front of the couch. "Careful. It's hot."

"Thank you, Kaito." Conan gave his friend a tired smile.

Kaito rolled his eyes, reclining into the arm of the sofa. "Come on. I told you to make yourself comfortable. You don't look comfortable." He picked up his detective and set him down so that he was lying on the magician's stomach. "Much better. Now, what is it that seems to be making my Tantei-kun melancholy?"

"Ran thought about what you said, and the other night she called Shinichi and told him that she was going to start dating this guy in her karate club." Conan sighed, burying his face in Kaito's shirt.

"And what did Shinichi say?" the taller brunette inquired softly.

"He told her that he was happy for her and wished her happiness. He offered to come back into town to beat the guy up if he turned out to be a rat," the former teen mumbled.

"And how does he actually feel about the situation?"

"That _was_ how he actually feels, but there're also feelings of regret for things left unsaid and sadness at being left behind. There's hope for happiness in the future too, but right now it's predominantly regret and sadness." Though, the soothing beat of Kaito's heart coupled with his warmth and scent were helping matters considerably.

"My poor Shin-chan." And those skillful fingers gently running though his hair were very nice. "Anything I can do to help?"

"You're helping already," the older boy mumbled in bliss.

"Then…I guess a magic trick won't be in order?" Kaito whispered, continuing to massage Conan's scalp.

"You already did one. You made the pain go away."

"Hn," the magician hummed. "Didn't know I was a miracle worker."

It was mostly quiet for a while after that as Kaito massaged and Conan made little content noises from time to time.

After about fifteen minutes, the miniature detective finally broke the silence. "Hey, Kaito? Are you seeing anybody right now?"

"You know it's kind of illegal for us to date, right, Shin-chan?" The purple-eyed boy chuckled softly.

"Some of the guys at your school said that you were going out with Hakuba." He cut right to the chase. "Since you're calling him 'Saguru' now, I thought maybe it might be true."

"Ahaha…" Kaito laughed dryly. "That's just a rumor started by my fangirls. Saguru and I are just friends."

"When did that happen?" Conan mumbled, cursing the Englishman for sneaking in on his turf while he was chibi-tized.

"Within the last couple of weeks. It was after you and I started hanging out. Turns out that he's a pretty cool guy." Kaito sounded a little too fond of the blonde for Shinichi's liking.

"I'm jealous. Why do you have to spend time with other detectives when you've already got me?" The child-sized gumshoe played up the adorable brat bit for all that he was worth.

"Don't worry, Tantei-kun. You're still my favorite, even though he was my first." Though said lightly in jest, the words still struck a chord within Conan.

"Your 'first'? What's that supposed to mean?" His entire body tensed.

"It's the truth made to sound like something dirty," the thief sighed. "He was the first one to chase me, after all. I was implying that…you know what? Never mind. I don't play favorites. Everyone is my favorite; it just depends upon whom I'm talking to at the moment. New subject. Go."

Conan thought for a moment, taking the opportunity to listen to Kaito's heart. "So…Kaito is your real name, isn't it?"

The person in question blinked, then chuckled. "You know, I guess it could be an alias for Kaitou Kid. I personally think my parents were just being punny. I never did properly introduce myself to you, did I? Nice t' meetcha. Kuroba Kaito—master magician, decent thief—at your service."

"Only 'decent'? I'd hate to see a 'master,'" Conan snickered.

"The master was forced into early retirement," Kaito whispered morosely.

Conan was about to say something comforting when he was cut off by the call of "I'm home!" and "Please pardon the intrusion." at the door.

….

**_I—I_**

(^  o ^)

Mikau: It's a snowman? So, some of the students from the high school part of my school are going to study in England for the next two weeks. In order to get them used to using English more often, I was put in their homeroom for the past three days. Truth be told, we spoke in Japanese the whole time, but we hung out before the real homeroom teacher came in, cleaned the classroom together, and all-in-all had a good time. I liked having a homeroom. I'm going to miss them, and I hope their studies in England go well. If any of you readers in England see a group of Japanese high schoolers from Kyoto wondering around Cambridge, be nice. Those are probably my babies (even though the age difference is closer to that of siblings). Thanks so much for reading!


	19. Sherlock Holmesing

Mikau: Hey everyone. Thank you for returning once again. Thanks as well to MyNameIsWren, icarusdg, crumbthief, PhoenixShadow, and kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. I really appreciated hearing people's thoughts about last chapter because I personally thought it was iffy. This one is okay-ish, but I had a hell of a time writing it for some reason. So, in other news, today at Himeji Castle I saw Megure-keibu. He had the tan coat, potbelly, funny mustache, and everything but the hat. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would demand a Magic Kaito drama for my birthday. Unfortunately, I don't, so I'll just politely request fanart if anyone has the time/talent/interest. I'd draw my own birthday fanart, but I lack the ability. It's March 10th, if anyone was wondering.

…

Sherlock Holmes-ing

The brunettes stared as what was surely Kaito's mother (Conan could see the resemblance) and some strange, nondescript man walked into the living room.

Mr. Boring turned to Mrs. Kuroba and said, "Chikage, I thought you said that you only had one son."

The woman blinked as Kaito stood up, holding Conan like a security blanket. "I…do. Kaito, Honey…I didn't think that you would be home. You usually go somewhere with that crazy detective brat that's trying to put Kid behind bars."

Her implied question was "what the hell are you doing here?"

"I decided to hang out with the other one today." The magician shrugged, putting on the tough-guy act. "We were just having male-bonding time."

"Which includes drinking coffee and snuggling on the couch?" the man with the forgettable face snickered.

"The majority of my male-bonding time includes snuggling, couches, and coffee…handcuffs too, for some reason." Kaito gave Mr. Nondescript a grin that said, "I dare you to question me again."

"_Kai_-to," Chikage hissed under her breath. "You promised to play nice." And then she plastered on a pleasant grin, her own version of poker face. "So, who's your friend, Honey?"

"I'll cooperate after I'm done making sure he knows who's boss," Kaito replied sotto voce. "It's a male thing. You wouldn't understand." And then the boy pasted on a smile to match his mother's. "This is my boyfriend, Kudo Shinichi…"

There was a disgusted look on Prince Boring's face, a 'not amused' expression on Chikage's, and a floored look on the boy in question's.

"…'s distant cousin, Edogawa Conan," Kaito continued after a pregnant pause. "He's a huuuuge Kid fan, aren't you, Shinigami-chan?"

Conan glared at his beloved. "Yeah. I love the guy. That must be the reason I chase him around, trying to put him in handcuffs."

"Don't worry. Everyone has their kinks."

Conan would have been angry had Kaito not then taken the opportunity to kiss the mini-sleuth on the forehead.

"So, Mom…who's _your_ friend?" Those deep violet eyes narrowed, and a mischievous grin spread across the magician's face.

"This is Ueno Kanji-san, my boyfriend, so please stop trying to scare him off." Chikage's voice was light and cheerful, but the look she was giving her child was terrifying. "Kanji, this is my son, Kaito."

The joker rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alright…I'll be good." He turned to Ueno-san and offered his hand. "I'm Kuroba Kaito. I apologize for my earlier behavior, but I just want to let you know that you are not a welcome presence in my life. I will, however, tolerate you because you make my mom happy. Never the less, if you break her heart, they'll never find your body." Kaito smiled pleasantly.

Ueno-san's eye twitched as he hesitantly shook Kaito's hand. "Very nice to meet you, Kaito. Chikage's told me a lot about you."

This made the thief chuckle, but Conan could tell it was a mask covering anger. "Please, _Kanji_. There's no need for informality. Call me Kuroba-san."

"And I'm Edogawa Conan!" the shrunken detective called in that cavity-inducing-ly sweet voice as he held out his hand. "I'm a friend of Kaito's! I'm eight years old, and I'm a detective!"

"Nice to meet you, Conan-kun." The homely man chuckled softly as he shook hands with what he assumed was a harmless child. "If I ever lose something, you'll be the first person I call to help locate it."

"He solves _murders_," Kaito said in a tone that the detective could only identify as 'bragging.' "You should see him on a crime scene, investigating the corpse, looking for clues, and gathering evidence. It's the most disturbing thing you'll ever see." The teen affectionately nuzzled the smaller boy.

"Well." Chikage looked like she wanted to smack her cheeky offspring. "I'm famished. How about we all go into the dining room and eat dinner? There's plenty for everyone, but I hope you like Chinese food, Conan-kun?"

"I wouldn't want to intrude." The young Holmes politely declined.

"Please stay," Kaito whispered, his voice pleading.

Shinichi could refuse his thief nothing. "If you're sure it's really okay…"

"Of course!" The enthusiastic hostess began herding everyone into the next room. "You're welcome here at any time, as long as you don't wake me up." She paused and thought again. "Unless Kaito's got himself injured or something."

That last remark left Conan wondering how much the woman knew about her son's late-night escapades. Then again, if she really were the Phantom Lady, as he suspected, she must know everything.

They took their seats at the dining room table and began to pass around the various boxes and cartons from Dragon Palace.

Conan couldn't help but notice that his friend avoided the poultry dishes like the plague. "You don't like chicken, Kaito?"

"Can't bring myself to eat a comrade." The magician smiled sheepishly. "I only eat pigs and cows."

The former-teen nodded. 'Comrade,' huh? When he thought about it, it made sense. Kid _was_ an awful lot like a bird. He could easily see the thief identifying with the feathered creatures. His doves probably had a lot to do with it as well.

During the next lull in conversation, the chibi-tized investigator set to work. "Ueno-san? I was wondering…what do you do for a living?"

"Kanji's a vet," Chikage answered in a tone of voice that told Conan that she thought it was a very noble profession indeed.

"Really?" Conan replied with every ounce of fake, childish enthusiasm he could muster. "Then maybe you can answer some questions for me. I was thinking about getting a pet, so I was looking on the internet, but…"

Kaito knew something was fi…finny thingy when Conan started quizzing Ueno on water temperatures for different types of tropical…you know…living conditions for chinchillas, and proper parakeet care.

Mostly Ueno agreed with whatever the child said he had found online, but there were a few times when he admitted ignorance, since apparently he treated mostly bigger animals like dogs and cats.

The conversation then drifted into a discussion of Mr. Uninteresting's hobbies.

Kaito tuned in and out, concentrating on his meal. He figured Tantei-kun would fill him in on the real story later, so there was no point.

Conan was asking Ueno about his family when one of Kaito's birds landed on her master's shoulder.

A quick glance confirmed that it was indeed Mona.

"Hey there, pretty lady," he whispered, holding out his finger for her to step onto.

The movement caught Conan's attention, and Ueno, noticing the young boy's distraction, turned to look as well.

"What's that filthy thing doing at the table?" he gasped, staring as if he had seen a rat.

"How rude." Kaito's entire body stiffened, the hairs on his arms standing straight up. "My girls are perfectly sanitary, thank you very much." The magician turned to his dove and nuzzled her affectionately. "Don't listen to him, Mona. He doesn't know the first thing about animals."

"Doves actually help keep down the number of pests in the house, since they eat bugs," Conan chimed in. "I saw a special on TV about them. They're supposedly very smart and easy to train. I also heard that they were really sweet animals too."

"That's _very_ true." Kaito chuckled as Mona nibbled lovingly on his ear. "Doves really are the best."

Conan was extremely surprised when the small white bird decided to try the bespectacled boy's shoulder on for size.

She further startled the young sleuth by nipping him on the ear as she had earlier done to Kaito.

The thief in question laughed. "Looks like she remembers you, Shin-chan."

"Remembers me?" Conan held out a finger for Mona to step on to as he had seen Kaito do before. He brought her out in front of him to have a better look and cocked his head to the side at the fragile-looking creature.

"She's the one you looked after during the egg-Scorpion incident." Kaito took his bird back, kissing her lightly on the head.

The detective nodded, embarrassed to find himself envious of the dove currently receiving Kaito's attentions.

Chikage sighed heavily. "I know you always forget, but didn't we _promise_ to never bring up that particular incident _ever_ again?"

Kaito gulped. "Oops. Sorry?" He cowered before his mother's fury. "But…it wasn't really a big deal. I mean, it turned out okay."

"Not a big deal?" the veteran thief seethed. "Kaito, do you know how I felt when I heard that they were searching the harbor for Kid's _body_?" Chikage squeezed her chopsticks hard enough to snap them in half. "Do you have any idea how scared I was when I saw that shattered monocle on TV? People don't survive being shot through the eye, Kaito. I thought for sure Kid was dead! And _you_. You just happened to pick that night to stay out without _calling_! I was worried sick. I've never been so afraid in my entire life, and you _know_ what kind of hairy situations I've been in." She sighed in frustration. "Kid should be required to send in an 'I'm not dead' note every time he gets injured."

"You're a big Kid fan, Chikage?" the lying boyfriend asked tentatively.

"I used to be his biggest fan, but nowadays I just worry about him," the former Phantom Lady sighed. "I have nightmares about him getting captured by the police and shot at by assassins. I worry that he'll get careless and that obnoxious blonde brat will find some proof of Kid's identity. I lose sleep at night thinking about all the ways he could get hurt pulling his outrageous stunts."

"Mom, I see where you're coming from, but Kid's perfectly capable of taking care of himself," Kaito argued. "He's not a child."

Chikage rolled her eyes. "Until he can make his own dinner and clean his own room, Kid is still a kid."

"You know, the Phantom Lady used to do way more dangerous things than Kaitou Kid. I wonder if she made dinner and cleaned her room by herself when she was his age," the teen muttered.

"The Phantom Lady was perfectly independent back in the day," Chikage snorted. "And even though she undertook dangerous missions, she wasn't as reckless as Kid, so her parents didn't have to worry themselves into early graves."

Kaito put on his pouty face.

Conan took a mental picture to enjoy later.

"You know, Kaito, sometimes I wish that Kid had a child. _Then_ maybe he would understand just how crazy he drives his mother."

Kaito paled. "It is _waaaay_ too early for Kid to be having kids."

Kanji turned to Conan and whispered, "Do you get the feeling that there are deeper layers to this conversation?"

"You don't want to know," the tiny tantei chuckled wryly.

000

When dinner thankfully concluded after what seemed like hours, the adults retired to the living room to watch a movie while the kids retreated upstairs.

"So…how bad is it?" Kaito sighed, taking a seat at his desk chair while Conan made himself comfortable on one of the cushions surrounding the tea table.

"What do you mean?" The great detective played dumb.

The magician deadpanned. "Don't pretend you didn't just Sherlock Holmes my mom's boyfriend."

"Is Sherlock Holmes a verb now?" the chibi chuckled.

"You know what I mean." Kaito rolled his eyes, spinning around on the rolling chair. "You did that thing where you shake his hand and know that he has three cats and spent his childhood in Ireland. So, what's his story? Should I call the police or get out the shotgun or what?"

"No need to go that far, Kaito. He's dishonest, but he's not a criminal."

"So…how bad is it?" the young thief reiterated.

"He's no vet; that's for sure. Some of the types of animals I asked him about don't even exist, and he agreed with some advice I said I'd gotten online that would kill the animals. Plus, he lacks any evidence of working with pets. I mean, even you have scratches from your birds. It's normal for a vet to get bitten and scratched, but he doesn't have any fresh wounds or scars."

"So what is he?" Kaito nodded as he thought about Conan's deductions.

"The evidence points to some kind of desk worker. From the calluses on his hands, I can tell that he writes a lot—possibly a secretary—but I'll need to investigate more in order to tell you exactly what he does.

"He's probably just a company employee, someone low on the corporate ladder. If he had a high-paying company job, he wouldn't have lied about being a vet to impress your mother."

"I see," the magician mumbled, chewing on his lip. "Anything else?"

"He's either married or extremely recently divorced, and he's fooling around with someone other than your mother," Conan stated bluntly. There was no use sugar-coating it for him.

"How can you tell that just from looking at him?" Kaito nearly fell off of his chair in surprise.

"Most people don't inspect the hands of the individuals they meet very carefully, but hands can be very telling. Ueno-san's got a tan line on his left ring finger. Since summer's just started and he already has a pretty noticeable line, it's apparent that he's been wearing a wedding ring sometime within the last two or three weeks. I deduced that he has at least one other mistress by the watch he's wearing."

"His watch?" The taller of the brunettes was lost.

"It's a brand new, expensive watch, and there's no way his wife would have bought it for him. You can tell that their relationship is strained by the state of Ueno-san's clothes. If the wife cared enough to buy him the watch, she'd care enough to make sure her husband wasn't running around in wrinkled, poorly laundered clothes. It's obvious that he does his own laundry and doesn't know how to work an iron.

"An expensive watch like that speaks of a serious relationship with someone who has cash. A normal company employee couldn't afford a brand name watch like that, so he didn't buy it himself. Thus, it was a gift from his lover."

Kaito nodded. "I'm going to kill him."

"I'm sure I could think of some way to murder him and not get caught," the shrunken sleuth offered his expertise.

"Don't tempt me."

It was quiet for a moment, and then the thief sighed. "What am I going to do?"

"I could look into the matter more…gather some evidence for you," Conan replied softly.

"Thanks. That would make things easier." The joker managed to dredge up a shadow of a smile as he picked his guest up and lay down on the bed with him. "Let's watch cartoons," Kaito suggested, turning on the TV. "They always make me feel better when I've had a rough day."

"I could use some cheering up too," the detective with ulterior motives mumbled, making himself comfortable in his crush's arms.

…...

^("A")^

Mikau: It appears to be a funny face of some kind. Feel free to use your imagination. So, I was trying to do some research about occupational markers for this chapter, and all I could find was stuff about stress markers on bones for autopsies. Needless to say, that didn't help much. Also, today I bring you a story of triumph. I was watching the Liar Game movie online, and two hours into it, I realized that there were no subtitles. I was really happy because I understood about 90% of the movie. Two years ago when I was in Japan the first time, I watched the second season of Liar Game on TV and understood about 25-35% of it. Needless to say, I am pleased with my progress. Thanks so much for reading.


	20. Flying Sparks

Mikau: Hello all! Thank you for returning to read once again. The last chapter got mixed reviews but a lot of them. Thanks to Nechangi, Ligare, MyReads, kakashikrazy256, AyameRose, yamiangie, perfectly flawed woman, and PhoenixShadow. I personally only thought the last chapter was okay, but I'm glad most of you liked it. This one is ishy too in my opinion. I'm sorry that I don't have any confidence in anything I write lately. I'll try hard next time too. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would include more episodes with actual plot. My brother always complains that the series is mostly filler. I agree, but at least the vast majority of it is extremely interesting filler.

…

Flying Sparks

"But you paid last time," Kaito complained in that bratty fashion that Saguru now found endearing.

"And I'm going to pay again this time too," the Englishman informed his companion on their way to the front gate.

Today they had plans to sample the new dessert menu at Nancy's, and Hakuba couldn't wait to watch his love interest get chocolate fudge all over his face.

"Stupid little rich kids," the brunette snorted. "Always have to wave their money around. Too bad you don't have a sister I could marry. It'd be nice to be loaded."

"You could always just marry me," Saguru said without thinking.

"I've always wanted to try on a wedding dress, but I've never had an excuse," Kaito replied without giving the blonde's comment a second thought.

"I'm sure you'd make a lovely bride." Hakuba thanked the higher powers for keeping his secret from being exposed.

"Kaito-kuuuuuun!" Keiko called from beside the entrance to the school grounds, catching the thief and detective off guard. "Someone's here to see you!"

The magician blinked, cocking his head to the side. Who would…?

Then a bolt of realization struck him, and he pushed his way through the crowd of squealing girls in order to rescue his young guest.

Hakuba stared in shock as his intended emerged from the writhing mass of female bodies carrying Edogawa Conan like a baby monkey.

"You could have just called me, you know," Kaito was saying. "I gave you my number for a reason."

"But I wanted to see you. It's been almost a week," the chibi replied. "You haven't come to see me once since I was over at your house."

"Sorry. Saguru and I have been doing stuff after school, and…" The violet-eyed boy trailed off when he caught sight of the expression on his British detective's face. "Something wrong, Saguru? Your mouth's hanging open."

"You two know each other?" Hakuba couldn't help but gawk.

Kaito nodded.

"He's my boyfriend," Conan announced with a big, sugary smile. He made sure to tighten his hold on Kaito, just to make it clear to the Brit that the magician was _his_.

"We go for coffee together at Poirot." The oblivious brunette nuzzled the little pest's hair affectionately. "He's my 'other date' that I always talk about."

"I see." Hakuba's eye twitched. He glared at Conan. "You do know who Kaito _really_ is, don't you?"

"Yes, but _you_ don't seem to have a problem with it, Hakuba-san," the smaller detective countered.

Now the other eye was twitching. He wanted to snatch Kaito away and hiss, "Mine!" but he couldn't allow himself to sink to that level. His opponent was a child. He wouldn't lose to a mere eight year-old, so it was best to handle the situation in a mature manner.

"Well, Edogawa-kun, it was nice seeing you, but Kaito and I were just about to go, so we'll see you next heist, okay?"

"Where are you going?" Conan turned and made big eyes at his crush.

"A café called Nancy's," the crush in question replied. "We're going to spoil our dinners eating sweets."

"Can I come too?" the little menace inquired in excitement.

"Of course not! You can't just invite yourself on someone else's date! Read the mood!" Hakuba wanted to scream.

"Sure. I don't see why not." Kaito shrugged, starting to walk towards the shop. "But you have to let me try a bite of whatever you end up getting."

"Deal," the home-wrecker chuckled.

Hakuba bit his lip and tried not to glare at the third wheel to his bonding time with Kaito. Time to do that "keep calm British thing," as the magician called it. Saguru would not give in to his young foe. He would remain dignified in the face of adversity.

Dignity, however, almost flew out the window when Conan started spoon-feeding Kaito.

"Say, 'aah,'" the little terrorist sang from his seat upon Kaito's lap as he offered the thief another spoonful of chocolate mousse.

"Aaah." Kaito obediently opened his mouth, closing his eyes.

Kuroba looked absolutely molestable to the proper-sized detective. That combined with the anger and jealousy directed at Conan was making the European sleuth's blood boil.

_He_ wanted to feed the thief. He could just imagine that wicked pink tongue lapping whipped cream off of his fingers.

But it was impossible.

They were _friends_. Just friends, and friends didn't lick chocolate syrup off of each other's bodies. No. Hakuba would have to wait. Wait _patiently_, sod it all.

It was the last straw when Conan chuckled, "Kaito, you're such a messy eater," and wiped mousse from the corner of the magician's mouth with his finger. He then proceeded to stick that finger into his own mouth.

"Indirect kiss!" Saguru's brain shrieked and immediately began contemplating the best way to get away with murder.

"That was mine," the dolt of a magician pouted.

"You're more than welcome to try to get it back," the Edogawa menace snickered, opening his mouth.

"Do not tempt me," Kaito warned.

"Yes, please refrain," it was all Hakuba could do to keep from snapping. "I really harbor no wish to witness the two of you snogging."

The edge to Saguru's words was enough to make Kaito give pause. "Chillax. We're just joking, you know."

"I should hope so. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to think of your preference for little boys, Kuroba." Hakuba was kicking himself as soon as the words left his mouth. He was being stupid, overacting, and misdirecting his frustration.

Kaito blinked.

Kuroba? When had he gone back to being Kuroba? Something was wrong in Euro-Detectiveland.

The magician set down his smaller sleuth with a smile, saying, "Excuse us for a minute." He stood, grabbing hold of Saguru's right ear. "Come."

When they were out of hearing range of the other customers, standing in the hallway that led to the restrooms at the back of the café, Kaito turned around and gave Hakuba the knowing look. "So? What's up?"

Saguru sighed, looking down at his black school loafers. "I apologize. I'm behaving like a child. I take back what I said, so I hope that you can forgive me. I promise to act my age in the future."

"That's fine. I forgive you, but that doesn't answer my question." Kaito switched voices, imitating the blonde perfectly. "There's just one thing I want to ask you: why would you do such a thing?"

"Do I really sound like that?" Hakuba chuckled.

"Mmhm." The bandit grinned. "Now, care to tell me _why_ you're acting Conan's age in the first place?"

"Don't laugh," the detective mumbled, suddenly finding his own hands very interesting.

"I wouldn't dare," the gentleman thief promised.

"I'm insanely jealous of an eight year-old," he confessed, shifting his gaze from his hands to the grooves in the wooden floor.

"Of Tantei-kun? Why?" Kaito hadn't been expecting that, of all things.

"Because you two seem close…closer than the two of us," Hakuba whispered. "I'm not used to sharing. I've never had anything to share or anyone to share with before, so… I mean, I know that you can have more than one friend, Kaito. I understand that I can't monopolize you, but…even if _you_ have other friends, I only have you."

There was more to it than that, but he wasn't about to go into the hurt and betrayal he was feeling. How could he explain to Kaito that he had thought that he was special to the thief? He'd believed that their relationship was unique, that he'd been the only one to hold the privilege of receiving house calls from the Kid. He'd thought that Kaito had opened up and revealed his true identity to him alone. He'd felt special being the only one let into the magician's confidence, and it hurt to find out that that wasn't the case.

Edogawa-kun knew too. Edogawa-kun had been visited by Kid as well. Everything that Hakuba had believed Kaito had shared with him alone had been given to the other detective also. It hurt to feel special for once in your life, only to find out later that you were just as ordinary as everyone else.

"So, I don't want to share, and that's why I'm jealous," Saguru quickly concluded before his thoughts could stray any further down the path that they were going.

Kaito chuckled, patting his friend on the head softly. "Thank you for telling me, even though you were embarrassed. I promise to spend an equal amount of time with both of you, so there's no need to worry, okay?"

"Okay," Hakuba replied with a blush, feeling every bit like a child.

"I do ask that you try to play nice with Tantei-kun, though. He's an important friend of mine too." The magician continued gently massaging the detective's scalp like he often did to his doves.

"I'll see what I can do," the Holmes enthusiast muttered, enjoying Kaito's fingers immensely. "As much as I enjoy the attention, Kaito, I'm not a dog. You do know that, right?"

"Mmhm." The shorter boy grinned mischievously. "Hey, Saguru. What's that stuff on the outside of trees called in English?"

"Bark?"

"Good boy." The brunette chortled, mussing the blonde's hair and starting to walk back to their booth.

"I hate you sometimes," Hakuba sighed, following obediently.

"Oh, we both know you love me madly," Kaito snickered.

"_How right you are, my angel,"_ Saguru thought with a sigh and a fond smile.

…...

_(a).(a)_

Mikau: It's an alien of some kind. Perhaps. So, last week I painted my nails red with clovers and Kid caricatures in black. I gave candy to the students who noticed. My brother says that that's creepy, but I thought it was a fun game. The kids seemed to think it was a good idea, and it got them to speak in English a little. Thank you very much for reading. Please send in your feedback if you feel so disposed.


	21. Interrupted Invitations

Mikau: Hello guys. Thank you for your continued patronage. Thanks also to everyone who reviewed; there were a lot: Nechangi, perfectly flawed woman, Sirastar, icarusdg, XxAkatsukiFanxX, Aniki-xvi, and kakashikrazy256. As the end of my study abroad in Japan draws near, I find myself depressed. All of the advertisements for the new Conan movie that I'm not going to be in the country to see are not helping. In other news, a lot of people have been asking about the pairing. I've had it decided since the inception of this fic, but please feel free to write in about whom you want Kaito to end up with whether it be KaiShin, HakuKai, or HakuKaiShin. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd switch up the eye colors a little more. Most of the main characters have blue eyes. There needs to be some variation. I mean, most Japanese people don't have blue eyes, so "realism" is no excuse. Throw in some purple or red or yellow every once in a while, why don't you?

….

Interrupted Invitations

"I feel like the Grinch that stole Christmas," Kaito sighed, sinking into the agency couch.

"Did she really take the news that badly?" Conan bit his lip, going to fetch the tea.

"Yes. No. Maybe. I have no earthly clue." The magician began scratching his head with both hands in confusion. "I confronted him with the evidence at dinner tonight, and Mom had a fit. I almost felt sorry for the poor slimeball; I think she scared him within an inch of his life. He probably won't be fooling around with other women any time soon. Mom even went so far as to call his wife, and there was mention of divorce and lawsuits. Then, after he left, she went up to her room. She didn't even look at me or saying anything. I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry." The pocket-sized investigator set the tea down on the coffee table and climbed up into Kaito's lap. "Your mom is one tough lady. I doubt she'll sink into depression or anything. Just give her some time to sort things out. She'll be fine."

"But what if she hates me for ruining her relationship?" The taller of the brunettes moaned, squeezing his therapist tight to his chest.

"Kaito, that woman loves you more than anything." Conan couldn't help but roll his eyes. His crush was such an adorable worrywart. "She's just a little vulnerable right now. She probably doesn't want you to see her weak, so she's keeping her distance. Give it a few days. She'll thank you for looking out for her later."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, you silly thing." The bespectacled boy chuckled. "Now ease up on the death-grip. You're choking me."

"Sorry." Kaito smiled sheepishly. "I know I'm being silly, but…you know, I worry when it comes to the people I love."

"I understand." Conan smiled, giving Kaito a reassuring squeeze. "You always wear that calm, in-control mask in front of other people, but it's okay to let your guard down and fall apart in front of me. You don't have to be afraid to show me the real you."

"You're such a charmer, Shin-chan," Kaito laughed, his anxiety leaving him. "You always know just what to say to make a boy feel all warm and fuzzy." And then all teasing left his voice. "You're a good friend, Shinichi. Thank you."

"Kaito, I…" Conan opened his mouth to respond, but the tender moment was ruined by Mouri Kogoro.

The older detective stuck his head into the office and barked, "Are you here again, Kuroba brat?"

"Ah. Mouri-san." Kaito slapped on a great big smile. "Good to see you again, Sir. I read about your case the other day in the paper, and it was just amazing how you solved the murder trick with the duct tape and the ping-pong balls. I never would have been able to see through that."

At this, the sleeping detective stood up a little straighter and cleared his throat. "Well, yes, but for a great detective such as myself, a case like that was simple. I could have solved it in my sleep!" And then he started to laugh that great big, obnoxious guffaw.

Both Kaito and Conan gave a half-hearted "Ahaha."

Once the laughter thankfully died down, Mouri motioned to the kitchenette. "There's some ice cream in the freezer that you can help yourself to, Kuroba brat. Just don't eat it all."

"Thanks, Mouri-tantei." Kaito chuckled with a grin as the private detective went upstairs to the apartment. He then turned to Conan once Mouri was out of hearing range. "That really was a brilliant deduction, though. You'll have to tell me about your process one of these days."

"If you'd like." The _real_ meitantei smiled, a little giddy at his love's praise. "Kaito, I…" Conan tried again, but this time he was cut off by the thief's cell phone.

The younger teen checked the caller display and quickly apologized. "Sorry. Got to take this one."

"Don't worry about it." Conan shrugged, wondering how his friend knew the identity of the caller when the number showed up as "private."

"Kiku-chan?" Kaito asked upon picking up.

The mini Heisei Holmes could barely make out a muffled threat about annoying nicknames from the person on the other end. There was also some mention of parts that Kaito had requested.

"You've got them _already_?" The magician seemed utterly floored. "How much do I owe you?"

Conan could discern something that sounded like "no need for payment," and then Kaito argued that it must have been expensive since whatever he'd asked for had to be imported.

The mystery woman said something like "already been paid in advance" and "come within the hour," and then the line went dead.

Kaito sighed and shook his head. "Sorry. Work."

"Oh." Conan nodded. "Then that was…" He wasn't sure if he should ask.

"A miracle worker. I needed some parts for a new gadget for scaling buildings, but they're hard to get a hold of." The magician set his friend down and made his way to the door. "Sorry to run off like this, but I have to go stop by her place. Thanks again for earlier, Shin-chan."

"Don't mention it." Conan smiled. "Hey, Kaito?" He might as well try one last time, though it was obvious that the higher powers were against him since he kept getting interrupted.

"Hm?" The taller of the two blinked.

"Are you free this Friday? I'd like to take you somewhere."

"Like a date?" Kaito grinned, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah. Like a date," the grade school sleuth chuckled.

"Sure, but if it's a date, you're paying. Check ya later, Tantei-kun." Kaito snapped Conan a sharp salute and made his way out the door.

…

i 22 i

**I.…I**

Mikau: I made myself a birthday cake. Most of the other international students have gone home already, and my Japanese friends are away on Spring Break, so I have no one to celebrate with this year. As sad as that sounds, it's not really a big deal. My fam sent birthday cards, and I'm going home on White Day, so I'll have a party with my family and friends in the US when I get there. As for the day itself, I plan to go see the new Sherlock Holmes movie, eat dinner out, and buy myself a small slice of cake. It's Saturday, so there'll be Conan to watch as well. It'll be fun. Speaking of movies, I went and saw the new Liar Game. It was good, but I don't like the new heroine. Her actress was great, but the character was not a worthy successor to Nao-chan. Thank you for reading.


	22. The Meanings of Roses

Mikau: Hello all. Thanks for coming back to read another chapter. Thanks to XxAkatsukiFanxX and PhoenixShadow who reviewed. This chapter I actually liked. It's been a while since I've truly liked anything that I've written, so I hope you like it too. Speaking of things I liked, I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie today since it just came out here. It was pretty much completely un-canonical, but it was interesting. I liked the way they did the over the falls part. They got that just perfect, even though it was totally different from the books. However, the part where they revealed that Sherlock was still alive was complete sacrilege—extremely funny, but unforgivable to a purist. It fit the mood, though. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Look at Mouri's hair. See that one little piece that's out of place in front? That one little bit that sometimes sticks out? If I owned it, I'd take a pair of scissors and go snip! I have OCD, and it drives me nuts sometimes.

…

The Meanings of Roses

"It's been a while since you've come through my window like that, Kaitou." Saguru smiled pleasantly, closing the copy of The Mysterious Affair at Styles that he had been working on. "I've been having fun hanging out with your roommate lately, but I've missed having you sneak into my room."

"And I've missed sneaking," Kid chuckled, giving the room a cursory glance before taking a seat on the arm of the couch. "I take it you're either working on an interesting case or you're depressed."

"The former." The blonde blinked. "Why do you say that?"

"Because your room is messy." The Moonlight Phantom shrugged, stealing a chip from the bag Saguru had been snacking from. "The only times you neglect cleanliness are when you're preoccupied with work and when you're depressed."

The detective nodded. "You're very observant. I received a request from Division One about a cold case. I've just about got it wrapped up, though."

"Good." The thief grinned wider than Hakuba had previous thought humanly possible. "How come you didn't mention anything about the case to your boyfriend?"

"Kaito's not my boyfriend." No matter how much he may wish it. "It was a pretty grizzly ordeal. He doesn't need to be exposed to those sorts of things."

Kid nodded. "It's sweet how you want to protect him…. I notice you took down all of my newspaper clippings and magazine articles from your wall."

"I got bored of you." Hakuba shrugged. "I've moved on to a new obsession."

The look on the kaitou's face was priceless. "And what is this new obsession of yours, if I may ask?"

"Stamp collecting." It was terribly difficult for the Englishman to keep a straight face.

"Stamps, Saguru? Stamps are more interesting than I am?" the jewel thief wailed. "I'm positively wounded, Tantei-san—a fatal blow right to the ego."

"Settle down, Kaitou," Hakuba tittered. "It's just a little weird having photos of people who visit frequently posted all over my walls like some kind of avid researcher."

"I always thought it was funny. Kind of freaked Kaito out, though." The phantom snorted. "What are you going to put up in their place? I doubt you could manage to find anything half as cool."

"I'm not sure." Truthfully, he'd wanted to keep his Kaito/Kid collage, but it _was_ a little stalkerish now that they were friends. "What do normal people put up? What do _you_ have on the walls in your room?"

"_My_ room?" Kid chuckled. "My room came pre-decorated with gadgets, gizmos, and random birdcages and model airplanes. _Kaito's_ room is filled with pictures of Father. There are a few posters of other magicians that he likes too and some random photos and stuff, but… I'd forgotten that you'd never been to his room before. He'll have to invite you over sometime."

"Has Edogawa-kun seen Kaito's room before?" Hakuba couldn't help but ask.

The thief raised his un-monocled eyebrow. "And what if he has?"

The detective shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "It doesn't really matter if he has or hasn't. I was just curious."

"Your jealousy is adorable, Tantei-san." Kid couldn't help but smile fondly at his detective.

"I'm glad someone is enjoying it," Tantei-san muttered.

"So…favorite childhood memory?"

Hakuba blinked. "Hmm…it was the day the gardener was murdered. I forget how hold I was at the time, but—"

"—Hold on." Kid deadpanned. "I said _favorite_, not most traumatizing. We'll do trauma later. Let's try for something happy."

Saguru chuckled, grabbing a chip from the half-eaten bag. "Oddly enough, 'happy' and 'traumatic' are often two sides of the same coin in my case. Hear me out.

"It was the day that the gardener was murdered. Father was visiting, and when I solved the case, he made a big deal out of it. It was the first time that he had actually paid attention to me, and I really liked it.

"A few days later, we were out for lunch, and he overheard a couple of men talking about the news article that had been written about me. I remember he said 'That's my son,' and started bragging about how sharp I was. Finally getting that recognition was the best."

"Good for you." The thief smiled, patting his detective on the head.

"What about you and the Kaitos? What's your favorite childhood memory?"

Kid grinned. "It's hard to pick just one, but it's probably the first time that Dad took Kaito number one up on stage with him. Dad dressed them up alike—even drew a little mustache on with eye liner. He had Kaito pull Mona's mom out of a hat. That was when he was five."

"Do you guys have a favorite recent memory?" Hakuba took the initiative to continue the conversation.

"Hmhmhmhm." The white-clad bandit started to hum in thought. "I guess…ah. Your face. When you tackled me on the rooftop when you caught me. Your face when you asked if I were going to dye your hair and escape was hilarious.

"Kaito's favorite recent one is probably the other day when he went shopping with Nakamori-chan. They didn't fight for once, and while they were having lunch together, he thought 'Maybe this is what it would feel like to be a couple.' He seriously considered kissing her when they said goodbye on her front doorstep. Too bad he's got that angsty 'I'm no good for her' complex going on. I think they'd be a cute couple."

Hakuba blinked. "Kaito…never mentioned anything like that to me."

"You guys don't normally talk about your love lives." Kid shrugged. "Would you like to? Is there anyone you like right now?"

The sleuth shrank under the phantom thief's dissecting gaze. "Not particularly. I do like someone right now, but I don't really want to talk about it."

"Is it Aoko?"

Saguru jumped.

Kid's eloquent speech had been suddenly switched out for Kaito's blunt, direct tones.

"No, Kaito. It's not Aoko-kun." Hakuba couldn't help but chuckle at the territorial edge to his friend's voice.

"It's not the witch princess, is it?" Kid was back.

"Koizumi-san?" She _was_ mysteriously attractive, but… "No."

"Keiko-chan?" The thief was running out of viable options.

"She's charming, but no." The detective shifted nervously on the couch, feeling very uncomfortable at being interrogated by his crush's alter ego.

"Nakamori-keibu!" the kaitou exclaimed as if he had unearthed some sort of ground-breaking archeological discovery.

Hakuba said nothing, only glared.

"It was a joke." Kid stuck his lip out and pouted.

Saguru rolled his eyes. Oh, the idiocy.

"I've got it!" The brunette brought his fist down into his palm. "It's me! You're in love with me!"

The Brit's face paled and then flushed. He looked away, trying to get his incriminating expression under control. "Of course not!"

"I know. I know," the thief laughed openly. "Sorry. Sometimes I can't help myself. Okay. In all seriousness, who is it?"

"I honestly don't want to say," Hakuba mumbled.

Kid sighed. "Alright. I get it. Tell me when you're ready, but for now, let's go back to talking about favorite memories. Do you have a favorite recent one?"

The European detective's blush worsened. "The other week, after you and I had fought about your supposed true identity, I told Kaito that I didn't have any friends anymore. He told me that he and I were still friends, and he called me by my first name."

"Did it really mean that much to you?" The thief smiled, enjoying the adorable look on his friend's face.

"Yes," Saguru whispered. "Not many people call me that."

"Then I'm glad to be one of the few that has that privilege." Kid stood, bowing with a flourish and presenting the detective with a white rosebud, just starting to bloom. "Goodnight, Saguru."

The blonde blinked, accepting the flower. "Kaitou?"

"Hm?" The thief cocked his head to the side.

"I've been wondering, but…why give me roses?" He intently studied the fragile-looking flower in his hand.

"Why not give you roses? I give them to everyone…though, I don't think I've ever given one to Tantei-kun. (You can write that down wherever you're keeping track of friendship points.) I usually just give out red ones, but the ones I gave you all mean something. I think that white rosebud's the most like you. Later." And he was gone before Hakuba could inquire just what those meanings were.

A quick internet search later yielded mixed results. Apparently the color white for roses symbolized purity, innocence, and worthiness. Rosebuds in general meant youth, but white ones stood for someone too young for love.

Saguru frowned.

So Kid thought him too naïve? Though, he seemed to be hinting that he found the blonde's purity admirable and endearing.

After puzzling over this, he decided that he was probably being complimented. After all, the rose was just starting to bloom. Maybe it meant that the kaitou thought that the detective was coming into his own as well.

…

#-(^.^)-#

Mikau: I think that number signs look more like pompoms than o's do. So, I have to go home on Wednesday. I'm really sad. While I'll be happy when I see my fam and friends, I'll truly miss my life here. I'm one of those that feels more at home abroad than in her own country. Hopefully, once I graduate I'll be able to get back here quickly. Then I'll get a job and a house and my citizenship and never have to leave Japan again. Thanks for reading. I'd appreciate it if you sent in some feedback if you have the time.


	23. Worst Heist Ever

Mikau: Hey there everyone. It's been awhile, hasn't it? I've been packing, saying tearful goodbyes, freaking out about overweight baggage, spending twenty-four plus hours in transit without sleep, and re-acclimating to the US. All in all, it's been terrible. I missed my fam and friends very much while I was gone, but I just want to go back home to Kyoto. Saying goodbye to my students was the worst. I got small presents and cards, and there were sooo many pictures taken. It was rough, and now everyone around me is speaking English, and it gives me a headache. Hopefully I'll get used to it again soon. Thanks to Immortalis Cruor Elf, Saia (thanks so much for the novel; I really appreciated you talking about all of the past chapters too, along with the new one), XxAkatsukiFanxX, kakashikrazy256, and athieisademon who reviewed. Please enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would be an episode chronicling Shinichi's adventures in Hawaii. Wouldn't that be great? I can just imagine: "From ten to noon you'll practice at the shooting range. After that, we'll have an hour for lunch, and at two o'clock I'll teach you to pilot a motor boat. You'll have a ten minute break, and then we'll learn how to drive a car."

…

Worst. Heist. Ever.

Wednesday afternoon, Mona, cleverly disguised to look like a pigeon, infiltrated Division Two. She imagined the Mission Impossible theme playing as she made her way through the maze of desks to the office of the Kaitou Kid Taskforce.

It was a perilous journey for a little dove, but she was the best of the best.

She had been trained in surveillance, stealth, and stage magic. Nowhere else would you find a more capable avian. Mona was the most trusted of Kaito's girls, and she wouldn't let her master down.

After dodging countless feet and almost having coffee spilled upon her, the brave little bird finally arrived at Nakamori-keibu's desk.

The inspector stared at the little fowl.

She stuck out her leg so that he could extract the message from the tube Kaito had placed there. While the good inspector puzzled over the note and delivery method, Mona helped herself to some of his coffee.

It was disgusting.

Satisfied with her hard day's work and looking forward to the treat awaiting her when she returned home, super dove took off out an open window next to Nakamori's desk, leaving the poor man utterly bamboozled.

_To my dearest Tiffany_

_I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship._

_I'm looking forward to our date on the night that sets cradles rocking._

_I'll come to collect you the hour (AM) that Stevie, _

_Verloc's unassuming victim, passed from this world,_

_And if you prove to truly be the most gifted of all women,_

_I'll gladly take you home with me._

_Yours, with all my love and hopes and dreams,_

_-KID_

"Some bird delivered it to my office just a few hours ago," Nakamori-keibu growled to his men. "I had the translation team get us a Japanese version, but you can see the original English note right there on the slide. Any theories?"

"Inspector, could it be possible that the bird got the place wrong?" one of the officers suggested. "No matter how you look at it, it appears to be a message to Kid's girlfriend. Perhaps it got delivered here by mistake?"

"No. It's a heist note, alright," Hakuba stated with certainty. He was pretty sure that there was no "Tiffany" in Kaito's life, after all. "Is there a diamond called Casablanca or something like that on display in the area? If there is, that's the target."

The officer at the computer did a quick search. "The Casablanca Stone at Tokyo National."

"How'd you come up with that?" one officer that had always been reluctant to work with "a spoiled little brat playing dress up in Daddy's clothes" snorted.

"Tiffany's is an American company known internationally for their diamonds. The second line is the famous last line from the movie Casablanca. If you put the two together, you get the intended target." The rest was a little harder.

"Can you make anything else of it, Hakuba-kun?" the inspector gently prodded.

"The night that sets cradles rocking is the summer solstice, commonly known as midsummer, as in Shakespeare's play. It's the longest day of the year."

"That's tomorrow, June twenty-first!" the tech guy announced.

"I don't get the reference in the fourth and fifth lines, but you should get something if you google 'Verloc' and 'Stevie' together."

"They're characters from the Alfred Hitchcock movie Sabotage." Tech guy to the rescue! "The Wikipedia article says that Stevie was a boy who was made to carry a package with a bomb inside, but he didn't deliver it in time. The bomb exploded at one o'clock."

"And the rest?"

All eyes turned to stare at Saguru.

Saguru, in turn, stared at the words on the slide. "I…don't really understand. I can only think that he's referring to Pandora from the Greek myths. Her name meant 'all gifts,' but it doesn't seem to tie into the rest of the note.

"When he says that he'll take her home with him, he may mean that he won't return the jewel after the heist.

"The last line seems to suggest that he's really hoping that this gem will be 'Pandora,' whatever it is that that means. I'll…think about it some more and let you know." Hakuba took a seat, still studying the last three lines intently.

"In any case, we've got the target, place, date, and time," Nakamori bellowed over the chatter of the gathered officers. "Let's work with what we've got and get some countermeasures in place. We don't have a lot of time people; let's move!"

000

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" Saguru sighed, glaring half-heartedly at the miniature detective.

"I don't have school tomorrow." The cheeky little brat smirked. "So…how long did it take you to solve the heist note?"

"Only a few minutes." Hakuba shrugged, downplaying the difficulty level. "It would have taken longer had Kaito and I not watched Casablanca the other day."

"Oh?" Conan chuckled, craning his head to get a better look at the diamond. "We watched A Streetcar Named Desire together. Guess he likes old chick flicks."

Saguru suppressed a low growl of jealousy. "How long did it take _you_ to solve the copy that was delivered to the Mouri Detective Agency?"

"No longer than a minute or two." The Edogawan menace smiled, and it was apparent that the note had posed no threat to him at all. "It was relatively straightforward as far as Kid notes go, and I've seen all of those movies, so…"

They lapsed into awkward silence, watching the officers twitch nervously in anticipation of Nakamori-keibu's next face check.

Hakuba sighed, pulling out his pocket-watch.

Only three more minutes left.

He really hated being stuck babysitting at the back wall, far away from the jewel case. The European sleuth had a sneaking suspicion that some of the officers were just using Edogawa-kun's presence as an excuse to force Hakuba into the background.

There had been a lot of jealousy turning into passive-aggressive bullying after Saguru's capture of Kid.

"So…do _you_ know what 'Pandora' means?" the four-eyed boy hesitantly inquired.

The blonde blinked. "No. I…I wasn't able to solve that part, unfortunately."

"I didn't figure you'd know, but I thought I'd ask." Conan shrugged, leaning up against the wall. "I mean, he'd tell me about it before he'd tell you."

"Excuse me?" Saguru's voice dripped with irritation. "Mind telling me just what you mean by that?"

The midget chuckled. "I don't _mean_ anything by it, Hakuba-san. It's just the truth."

"How do you figure that?" the taller of the two snapped.

Conan shrugged, a self-assured smirk on his face. "Kaito and I are very open with each other. We're honest, and we talk about things."

"What makes you think Kaito and I _don't_ talk about things?" Saguru bit back, balling his hands into fists.

The little pest rolled his eyes. "Please. When the two of you chat, _you_ do most of the talking. You've noticed it yourself, haven't you? The other week when the two of you had that big fight, you said it yourself. _You're_ the only one doing the sharing."

"How do you know that?" Hakuba whispered.

"He told me." Conan shrugged. "He refuses to tell me what you say to him in confidence, but he talks about his visits with you, the places you go, and the things you do together. He told me that he feels guilty for never being honest with you."

"He's honest enough," the blonde spat, feeling every bit betrayed. "He tells me about the important things."

"Oh? So I guess he talked with you about the situation with his mother?" the former teen asked in challenge.

"His mother?" the regular-sized detective mumbled.

At that moment, Kid appeared in a blast of light. "Good evening my wonderful taskforce! Tonight I've come to claim the Casablanca Stone as my own." He grabbed the gem with his left hand and threw sleeping gas bombs into the crowd of officers with his right.

"He didn't tell you?" The shrunken sleuth was enjoying being vindictive.

Kaito was _his_, and he'd do everything he could to keep things that way. With his body in such a state, he couldn't fight back physically, so he would use his words as weapons to combat his rival.

"He's been really torn up about it too. It's a little weird that he didn't mention anything."

"What do you mean his mother?" Saguru hissed, face coloring in anger.

Kid glared.

It looked like his detectives were having some kind of heated argument in the corner.

Tantei-kun was smug while Saguru was fuming.

"Um…excuse me! Detectives?" the phantom called out to the feuding duo. "Heist in progress over here, if you'd like to join in."

"Maybe he didn't say anything because he doesn't feel comfortable crying like that in front of you." It was a low blow, but it was all the grade schooler had.

"He…cries in front of you?" Saguru had never seen Kaito cry, even though he himself had shed plenty of tears in front of the thief. Kaito showing any vulnerability at all to Saguru was a very rare thing indeed.

"Mmhm. He often comes to me for advice and when he's upset."

Kid was getting impatient. "Hey! Committing grand larceny here!" he shouted as he dodged the taskforce officers, leaping over some, jumping on others' heads. "Geez. What's a guy got to do to get noticed? Drop dead? Hey! Look at me!"

Kid's confetti bombs and cracklers did nothing to attract the attention of the quarrelling detectives.

"Hey! Pay attention to me!"

Nothing.

"Hey! I think I'm about to get murdered!"

Nothing.

"I wasn't kidding when I said that Kaito was my boyfriend." Conan narrowed his eyes at his opponent. "It's not official yet, but it's only a matter of time. You saw us the other day, flirting at the café. He likes _me_, so back off, Hakuba."

"You must be joking," the taller detective barked. "You're nothing but a child! Kaito may fawn over you, but it's not love. You'll never be anything more than his friend, so I'm not bowing out to _you_! I _will_ make him love me."

"Edogawa Conan may be just a little kid, but Kudo Shinichi will never lose to you!" the former Detective of the East shouted.

"KYAAAAAA!" Kid screamed at the top of his register.

That got a reaction.

The taskforce members that were still conscious covered their bleeding ears, and the two detectives snapped to attention, looking around for the woman who had screamed and the dead body that usually accompanied such a shriek.

"Finally," the Moonlight Magician seethed, putting his hands on his hips and glaring at the detectives from atop the jewel case. "How. DARE. You ignore me. I don't know what the hell you were arguing about, but do it on your own time. This is my heist, and from the time I appear to the time I escape, you pay attention to _me_. Got it?"

The pair of detectives blinked. They'd been so wrapped up in their fight that they hadn't noticed the goings on around them.

Kid held the Casablanca Stone up to the moonlight that was streaming in through the skylight and sighed. He dropped the diamond back into its case. "I'm going home."

There was a puff of pink smoke, and the thief was gone, leaving stunned silence in his wake.

"I've never seen him throw a temper tantrum like that before," Inspector Nakamori mumbled, gaping at the thin air that Kid had left behind.

…

( ^)~o 8 O 0

Mikau: It's Bubble Blowing Kara, cross-posted from the new chapter of my other fic, The Price of a Future. So, I really enjoy Mona, and I'm planning on using the line "Edogawan menace" again sometime. Also, Kaito knows that he's acting childishly and unprofessionally, and he apologizes. Was anyone familiar with all of the movie references in the heist note? I'm jumping all over the place today, aren't I? Truth be told, it's late here, and my thoughts are a little scattered, but I can't sleep because I'm suffering from major jetlag. It sucks. Thanks for reading. Any feedback is appreciated.


	24. The Mushy Stuff

Mikau: Hey everyone. Thanks for coming to join me once again, and special thanks to reviewers icarsudg, Nechangi, Aniki-xvi, ShortLittleAngel, Tsuna De Vongola Decimo, Nightpounce, PhoenixShadow, Athina Dark-Angel of Death, ylvglo, and kakashikarzy256. I'm just tickled scarlet that so many of you reviewed—a lot of new people too. Thank you very much. I really do appreciate it. Sorry that updates have been a little slow lately; I'm just getting over my jetlag, and I'm still feeling a little loopy. I also had to write a proposal for the independent study I'm doing when the new terms starts next week. I'm going to be translating Magic Kaito and then writing a paper about the challenges of translation and translation theory and all that jazz. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd give Conan a rival early on in the series. Heiji is great, but they became more friends than rivals, and he doesn't show up very often. It'd be fun if there was someone for Conan to face off against. (Cough. Include more Hakuba. Cough. Wow. I hope I'm not coming down with something.)

…

The Mushy Stuff

Kaito was giving Hakuba the silent treatment, and the blonde knew he deserved it.

Kid was a very proud creature, and Saguru had gravely injured that pride.

There was no greater insult than ignoring the thief, and the detective had done just that, if only unknowingly.

Now Hakuba was being ignored.

"You're being extra cranky today, Kaito," Aoko observed, taking her seat.

"Not especially." The magician in question shrugged.

"Did something happen?" His best friend continued to gently prod.

"Not especially." Another shrug.

"You're upset about the Kid heist, aren't you?" The blue-eyed girl sighed. "I heard from my dad about what happened, but you can't take it out on Hakuba-kun. It's not like _you_ have any reason to punish him personally."

"As Kid's biggest fan, I reserve the right to give Tantei-san over there the silent treatment," Kaito declared.

Aoko rolled her eyes and then smiled. "Hey, Kaito. You know what today is, right?"

"June twenty-first. I don't want anything," the magician replied automatically.

"You're really no fun, Kaito," the inspector's daughter sighed. "You're supposed to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?" Hakuba couldn't help but inquire.

Kaito glared at Aoko.

Aoko smirked. "His birthday."

"It's your birthday today?" The detective gaped at his best friend. "I didn't know that."

"Because not all of us feel the need to include our blood types and hobbies in our self-introductions," the moody brunette snorted, getting to his feet. "Aoko, I'm going home early."

"But school hasn't even started yet!" the mop-wielder protested.

"Me too," Hakuba tossed over his shoulder as he followed after the magician.

"Go back to class, Saguru," Kaito sighed. "I'm sure Daddy will be upset when he finds out you're ditching."

"After all you've heard, you seriously think that my father cares enough to make sure I attend class? If anything, I'll get a chewing out from Baaya, but, unlike Mr. Someone, _my_ father doesn't give a damn about me."

Kaito stopped and turned around. "I'm sure that's not true."

"So…it's your birthday?" Hakuba smiled, grateful for the kindness.

"Maybe. It generally passes unobserved." The magician sighed and continued walking.

"Mine too. Baaya makes a cake. Mum's housekeeper sends a card for her. Father forgets." The blonde laughed darkly at this. "My case is understandable, but you've got people who love and care about you. Why don't you celebrate your birthday?"

Kaito stopped again and glared at his friend. "Why are you so sure no one loves you?"

"Well, there's Baaya, but…mostly because it's true," Saguru sighed.

"_I_ love you!" Kaito winced when he heard the words leaving his mouth. "In the non-gayest sense of the words possible," he mumbled. "You're my friend, and I don't have a lot of those, so you're important to me, okay? I care about you, so stop feeling so unloved all the time. Geez. I'll celebrate your birthday with you, so don't cry. August twenty-ninth, right?"

"You…remembered." Saguru could feel his heart ready to explode.

"I remember a lot of things. Please don't go all mushy on me."

"Thank you, Kaito," the detective whispered, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. "I love you too."

"Oh my god," the magician sighed in English. "Okay. No more touchy-feely stuff. Just because I'm a cross-dresser, doesn't mean I'm in touch with my feminine side. Any more mushy guck, and I'm going to be sick. Geez. Now I have to go do something manly."

"This from the guy who has a sweet tooth bigger than Boston and enjoys watching classic romances," Saguru snickered.

"Oh, shut up, Sherlock," Kaito couldn't help but laugh. "You own the complete works of Jane Austen and cried like a baby during Dog of Flanders."

"You cried too!" Hakuba exclaimed accusatorially.

"So we're both sissy wusses." The brunette smiled, clapping his friend lightly on the shoulder. "I hate you."

"I hate you too," the detective chuckled, glad that everything was okay between them again.

"Oh. Hey!" Kaito suddenly pulled away, whining, "I was mad at you!"

"I'm sorry. I swear to start fawning over you the instant you walk into a room from now on." Hakuba missed using sarcasm. It wasn't a type of humor understood by the majority of the Japanese public.

"Okay, so maybe I was being a little childish having a fit like that, but—"

"—No. I was being rude." Saguru smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Kaitou. That impertinent little brat was just… Just thinking about it makes me furious."

"What happened exactly?" The brunette blinked, cocking his head to the side. "Tantei-kun gave me the short version when he called to apologize, but I'd like to hear your side."

"He just…sorry. I feel stupid for getting into such a childish fight with that whelp, but…he just pushed all of my buttons. I mean…I'm already insecure enough as it is, and he just confirmed all of my fears." Hakuba sighed, looking down at his feet. "You really talk to him about everything, don't you?"

"What do you mean?" Kaito stopped walking for the nth time and really looked at his companion.

"He told me that you two don't keep secrets from each other. He said that you confided in him about things and went to him for advice. He mentioned that something was up with your mother, but I didn't have any idea what he was talking about. He said you were really upset about it, but you never mentioned anything like that to me, so…"

"It's easier to talk to him about some things." Kaito shrugged. "It's not like I consciously choose to go to him over you, though. It's because he looks like a harmless child that I'm less guarded. I let things slip, and then he wheedles the rest out of me. Sometimes I just happen to talk to him about things first and then I don't feel like going through the same conversation again.

"If it makes you feel better, you're the only person in the world that knows about Kaito, Kid, and me. There are things that I talk about with you, and then there are things that I talk about with him.

"You two have different strengths as friends, so don't get all bent out of shape if I talk to him about something I don't mention to you. Sometimes I identify more with him because we both know the pain of keeping secrets from the ones we love, and sometimes I can relate better with you, so don't worry. I don't play favorites, Saguru." The magician smiled and patted his detective on the head.

Hakuba nodded. "If you say so."

"I do."

And they started walking again.

"You're doing that broody, pensive silence thing," the joker observed. "Do we still have a problem?"

"Do you talk to Edogawa-kun about me?" the sleuth asked after a while.

"Yeah. Why do I sense a trick question?" Kaito stopped again and raised an eyebrow.

"You never talk about him with me."

"You don't want to talk about Shin-chan." The magician-thief shrugged.

"'Shin-chan'?" Saguru echoed incredulously.

"Uh…'shinigami-chan.'" The brunette chuckled sheepishly.

"And what, pray tell, do you call me when you speak to him?"

"Just 'Saguru.'" Kaito shrugged and started to walk again, not really wanting to meet the blonde's gaze. "Though, he seems to have a problem with that. Detectives are very territorial creatures, aren't they?"

"I don't want you talking to him about me. What I tell you is meant for your ears alone; there are plenty of things I don't want anyone else knowing, and…I just…" He sighed, biting his lip and casting his gaze downward.

"Hold up." Kaito stopped the detective, putting his hands on the blonde's shoulders. "Saguru, I'd never go into detail about what we talk about together to a third party. When I said that Tantei-kun and I talk about you, I meant things of little consequence like 'Saguru ordered that nas-tea Earl Grey tea again today,' or 'Saguru and I watched this really great movie the other day.' I'd never tell him anything personal."

"Then, how did he know that we'd had a fight the other week?" Hakuba challenged.

The shorter teen bit his lip and looked off to the side. "I may have whined at him for an hour about what a terrible person I was for lying to you. There may have been an additional half hour of reasons why I'm a bad friend. I didn't mean to, but I was really upset, and I tend to blab when I'm not being careful. I swear I'd never talk about private stuff, though."

The Brit nodded with a small smile. "Sorry for doubting you."

Kaito returned the grin. "You can buy me chocolate to make up for it."

"I'll buy you chocolate for your birthday until I can think of something better."

"Chocolate is a good enough present." The magician shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"No. I want to get you something that'll last more than thirty seconds," Saguru insisted.

"Suit yourself," the brunette chuckled. "So…wanna hit up an arcade or something?"

"No. _We're_ going back to school like good children." Hakuba rolled his eyes, taking a hold of Kaito's arm and tugging the smaller boy back towards the gate.

"No. _We're_ going to have fun." Kaito tugged back, nearly sending the Englishman tumbling into him. "Come on. You're always such a goody-two-shoes. It's my _birthday_. Come be _bad_ with me, Saguru." He grinned impishly, making the words sound all the more dirty.

The Brit blushed a splendid vermillion.

Kaito rolled his eyes and sighed. "You know I meant that in the non-gayest sense of the words possible. Now, are you coming or not?"

"Okay," the detective barely managed to squeak, thinking that he'd follow the other teen through the gates of hell, if only Kaito would look at him with that devilish grin more often.

…

o(*)n(*)o

Mikau: It's my freak out face. There are the arms, the teary eyes, and the mouth. Maybe try squinting. So, I'm excited for next chapter. I think the KaiShin fans will like it. It's called The Return of Heisei Holmes. Cue screaming fangirls. Anyway, people keep asking about the final pairing, so I shall say please be patient; there will be many twists (well, a few at least), but there shall be plenty of HakuKai and plenty of KaiShin, so everyone should be happy. Thanks for reading. Hope to see you next time.


	25. The Return of Heisei Holmes

Mikau: Hey guys. Been a while. Sorry to keep you in suspense, but life happened. Fortunately everything is going well. I got moved in to the dorms, got my independent study proposal signed and turned in, and have begun translating Magic Kaito. And reading a play for Spanish. And reading articles for Sociology. So yeah. In other news, did anyone see the new Conan episode? It was awesome! Though, I don't know if it's subbed yet. I watched it online raw, but it was really great. I suppose I was kind of partial to it because Kansai-ben was crucial to the case, and I really miss Kansai-ben now that everyone around me speaks English. I feel like I'm back home when I listen to Heiji talk. Though, I never noticed before, but Kazuha uses 'haru' at the end of some of her verbs to be respectful (I noticed particularly when she was talking about what Kogoro had ordered to eat), and I thought we only did that in Kyoto. I guess they do it in Osaka too, but I never heard it while I was there. Or maybe I just didn't notice because there are so many other things that Osakans do when they speak that you have to pay attention to. Anyway, sorry for the super-long tangent. And now we start the long-awaited romance part of our story! Thanks to MyNameIsWren, Immortalis Cruor Elf, angelwingsonline, ShortLittleAngel, Aniki-xvi, PhoenixShadow, H.A.R.M. Girl, and NightPounce who reviewed! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd include a wider variety of death/crime scenarios. For example, I'd throw in a suicide made to look like murder or a kidnapping or fraud or arson or something to liven things up and break up the constant murder murder murder. A serial murderer would also be interesting, I think. Maybe even a theft or two. I mean, the murders that Aoyama-sensei writes are always clever and interesting, but I'd really like to see a wider range of crime. There's so much to choose from, and I'm sure he could write it really well.

…

The Return of Heisei Holmes

"Are you going somewhere, Honey?" Chikage called from the kitchen, smiling as her son walked past the doorway for the seventh time. "Like…on a date?"

"None of your business." Kaito stuck out his tongue while fastening his shirt buttons.

"So who's the lucky lady?" the former thief chuckled.

"It's a guy."

Chikage blinked. "O-oh?"

"Just Shin-chan," Kaito snickered, grabbing a banana to snack on. "He didn't say where he's taking me, so I'm not really sure how to dress or whether to eat or not. Just said he'd be over around six-thirty…. Did I scare you?"

"Just surprised me slightly." His mother shrugged. "I was expecting you to say 'Aoko.'"

"So you're saying you wouldn't flip if I suddenly decided to start seducing other men?" The magician raised an eyebrow in question.

"Whatever makes you happy, Honey."

The doorbell rang.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Go have fun on your not-date." Chikage smiled knowingly.

Kaito shrugged, checking his appearance one more time in the hall mirror before running off to get the door. "Hey, Shin—"

The magician froze when he realized he was seeing midriff where he had expected a face.

Violet-blue eyes slowly trailed up the taller teen's body until they found what they had been looking for.

Kaito blinked. "—ichi."

"Hey, Kaito," a slightly familiar voice responded. "Ready to go?"

"Uh…un." The magician nodded, not really trusting his voice just yet. He hesitantly followed the detective.

"Are you surprised?" Shinichi chuckled, giving the slightly shorter teen a bright grin.

"Un." Kaito bit his lip, studying the guy walking beside him.

Shinichi _was_ taller, if only slightly, much to Kaito's chagrin. He looked a lot like Tantei-kun with a thinner face, minus the glasses and bowtie, but he was completely different at the same time.

This boy was smiling openly while Shin-chan had always been a little guarded. Shinichi's smiles where downright happy while Conan's had been slight, ironic, and sometimes even bitter.

The eyes were different too. They were the same shade of blue, but Shinichi's held an expression that Kaito had hardly ever seen in Conan's. Tantei-kun's eyes had always been a little dim. These eyes were shinning.

While the differences were slight, it was enough to make the thief feel that he was with another person entirely.

"So…where are we going, Shin…ichi?" Kaito inquired, following the other teen just a step or two behind.

"You can still call me 'Shin-chan,' Kaito," the great detective chuckled at the magician's reluctance. "We're going to a restaurant I thought you'd like for your birthday. They have a giant chocolate fondue fountain."

The shorter brunette blinked. "My…birthday? How did you…?"

"I asked some of the people at your school while I was waiting for you the other day. Glad I did, otherwise I would have missed it. Sorry that I'm a day late." Shinichi pulled out a small box wrapped in a red ribbon. "Happy Birthday, Kaito."

"Th-thank you." The indigo-eyed boy blinked in surprise, accepting the gift. "You didn't have to."

"Go ahead and open it," the former grade schooler urged.

Inside was a set of three tie pins, one in the shape of a dove; another, a clover; and the last, one of his Kid caricatures.

"Where did you get these?" Kaito chuckled, admiring his present.

"Had them made." Shinichi shrugged, wearing a smug grin.

"Thank you," the magician-thief whispered once more. "So…not to be rude or anything, but why am I going out with Shinichi when Tantei-kun was the one who asked me on a date? I thought the great Detective of the East was gone for good."

"It's not a permanent cure," the now regular-sized sleuth sighed. "I've got about four hours before I go back to being…_that_, but I wanted to show you the _real_ me."

"Oh." Kaito nodded, fighting the urge to defend his friend against this stranger.

Tantei-kun was not a "_that_."

"So? What do you think?" The Heisei Holmes grinned, turning around like some kind of model.

"Uh…you look…different—good. I meant you look good," the magician mumbled, feeling extremely uneasy.

"I know, right?" Shinichi chuckled. Even his way of speaking was slightly different than Tantei-kun's.

000

"You're really quiet tonight," the talkative sleuth observed half-way through dinner. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh—n-no. I just don't have anything to talk about, so I was just letting you do all the talking." Kaito's poker face was seriously malfunctioning. He honestly had no idea how he was supposed to act around Kudo Shinichi.

"Kaito…" The blue-eyed brunette frowned, and Kaito thought, _"Ah! There. _Now_ he looks like Tantei-kun."_

"I told you…you don't have to pretend in front of me. If something's wrong, _tell_ me," the Shin-chan-lookalike pleaded. "You don't look like you're having a good time."

"It's nothing. I mean, I'm really grateful for the gift and you taking me here. It's really thoughtful of you, but…I'm sorry. I'm just a little uncomfortable dealing with people I don't know well."

Shinichi blinked. "What do you mean 'people you don't know well'?"

"Uh…" Kaito bit his lip. "I mean…Kudo Shinichi." He sighed, looking down into his plate. "I know in the back of my mind that it's _you_ under there, Shin-chan, but…all I see when I look at Shinichi is a stranger. You're different. You don't look like you or talk like you or act like you. I was really looking forward to hanging out with my Tantei-kun, but you're not him. I'm sorry."

Shinichi sighed.

"Is this better, Kaito?"

The magician snapped to attention at the sound of Shin-chan's voice. When he looked up, he found Shinichi wearing Conan's glasses and speaking into the bowtie. He laughed.

The bespectacled gumshoe rolled his eyes.

"So this is what Tantei-kun will look like in ten years," Kaito chuckled. It was funny how much of a difference glasses and an annoyed expression made.

"Kaito, you're an idiot," Shinichi sighed in Conan's voice.

"I'm sorry, Shin-chan." The younger of the two smiled sheepishly.

The detective shrugged. Whatever made his beloved happy. "Sorry for making you uncomfortable. I just wanted you to see me for who I really am."

"I already do, Shin-chan," the thief assured. "Have I ever babied you or treated you differently because of your outward appearance?"

"I know you've always treated me like an intellectual equal, but physically, you only think of me as a child, Kaito. I just wanted to remind you that I _am_ a man inside of that adorable little shell. I don't mind, of course. I like being affectionate with you, but sometimes I don't think you realize that whatever you do with Conan," He lowered the bowtie and took off the glasses. "you're actually doing with me."

"Oh." Kaito blushed. "Oh." He thought back to all the times he had hugged, snuggled, nuzzled, and even kissed Tantei-kun. "S-s-sorry." Even the magician's ears went bright red.

"Don't apologize." The bowtie and glasses were back in place. "I think we both need the attention. I didn't do this to make you feel uncomfortable or embarrass you. I just wanted you to know that _I'm_ me too. I kind of wanted to get you used to my adult form."

Kaito nodded, face still flying through a spectrum of reds and pinks.

The rest of the night went well in Shinichi's opinion.

Kaito opened up considerably after the detective had conceded to wearing the glasses and using that damn voice changer.

The Meitantei was formulating a plan to slowly wean Kaito off of Conan's voice. He'd keep the glasses, if it made his crush happy, but the grade schooler's voice had to go. There was no way he was confessing his love through that thing. When he did it, it was going to be as Kudo Shinichi, in his own voice.

"Did you have fun?" Shinichi asked, walking as slowly as possible up the path to Kaito's door.

"Yeah, I really did. Thank you, Shin-chan," the magician chuckled. "Sorry for being so weird before."

"Don't worry about it." Shinichi smiled, tempted to kiss his beloved as they came to a stop on the porch. "Hey, Kaito? Close your eyes."

"Why?" the magician inquired but complied anyway.

The detective in love wrapped his arms around the younger boy's neck and affectionately nuzzled his ear like Kaito had done many times before.

The magician gasped as two lips gently brushed his cheek. "Happy Birthday, Kaito," Tantei-kun chuckled. "Good night."

Kaito kept his eyes firmly closed as his fingers searched Shinichi's face for the forehead. He hesitantly gave the skin there a little peck. "Good night, Shin-chan. Thanks." And then he opened his eyes.

"Oh my god," the thief exclaimed, pulling away. "Why didn't you tell me how awkward that was every time I did something like that to you?"

Shinichi could only laugh. "I've never minded."

"You _should_ mind!" Kaito shrieked. "We've been acting like a pair of homos this whole time!"

The detective put the bowtie away, cupping the thief's cheek. "Get used to it. I like acting like a pair of homos with you, Kai-chan."

Kaito's other cheek received a light kiss.

Kaito's brain fried. "Eh?"

"Relax," Shinichi assured, pulling back and smiling. "I'm half joking."

"Eh?"

Mission accomplished, Kudo Shinichi took his leave, leaving an extremely confused Kuroba Kaito standing on his front porch, wondering why he was feeling dizzy, panicky, and warm and fuzzy all at the same time.

…

v(o.o v ) "Ne, shiteru?"

Mikau: It's a mameshiba! Ish. So…how was it? (Not the mameshiba. I _know_ it sucks.) Everything you hoped it would be? Disappointing? Well, there will be more in the future as the romantic sides of the relationships develop. I personally had fun writing awkward, confused Kaito. If you think he's out of character, you're right. I think being out of character is in character for him at this point because he doesn't know which mask to hide behind. I'd like to hear your thoughts though, if you have the time. I'd also like to thank everyone who's been reviewing again because it's really helpful when you guys tell me what you liked and what you didn't. I appreciate that a lot of you have been taking time to leave comments lately. Thanks for reading!


	26. Panic Attack

Mikau: Hey there. Sorry for the long wait for such a short chapter. The depression has finally set in. Coming back from studying abroad is always hard, but this year it seems to suck more. At least the food isn't making me ill. Usually the food is the worst part. No, I just miss my life in Japan. I was really settled in there, and now I'm back here where I feel…well, off. Updates may be a little slow the next few weeks while I barricade myself in my room and pretend I'm back in Japan. Thanks to Immortalis Cruor Elf, CherieGrey, AyameRose, and kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the Detective Boys probably wouldn't exist. I alternate between periods of adoring them and hating their guts. A Detective Boys adventure is nice every once in a while, but if there are more than two episodes with them in a short period of time, I get cranky. Does anyone else feel this way? They make for a nice plot device occasionally, though.

…

Panic Attack

Saguru nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden sound of desperate pounding on the sliding door to his balcony.

"Kaito, it's nearly eleven o'clock," the detective complained, opening the door for his guest.

"What kind of nerd goes to bed before midnight on a Friday?" The brunette rolled his eyes, slipping off his shoes as he came in.

"This one," Saguru sighed.

"Sorry. I needed to talk to you right away."

Something was up.

The magician was unfocused. His eyes were shifty, his palms were sweaty, and his body was shaking. Kaito was also pacing like his life depended upon it.

"Kaito, sit down and tell me what's wrong," the Brit commanded.

"I think I'm gay," Kaito exclaimed.

Hakuba blinked. "O-oh?" He took a seat on the couch next to the brunette and blushed. "W-why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't freaking know what to do about it!" The thief was in hysterics. "I've liked Aoko my entire life, and now all of the sudden I'm gay? What the hell? Like, what does that even mean? What do I do? Is there some way to make it go away? Are people going to bully me now? Are people going to hate me? Can they tell? What am I going to tell my mom? What am I going to tell Aoko?" And then Kaito stopped talking.

"Okay. Just…breathe, Kaito." Saguru's head was spinning.

This was quite the development.

"Okay, so…what happened to make you think that you were gay?" No need to get his hopes up just yet, in case Kaito was just being a spazz.

"Shin-chan found out it was my birthday, and he took me to this restaurant. When he dropped me off at my house, he kissed me and said that he liked doing those kinds of things with me, and now I'm confused! I mean, I felt all giddy and tingly and kind of happy, kind of like how I feel with Aoko, but he's a boy, and I'm a boy, but he kissed me, but maybe he was just joking, and now my head's spinning, and—"

"—Wait," Saguru growled, putting a hand over Kaito's mouth to keep it from running. "Edogawa sodding Conan _kissed_ you, and you _liked_ it?"

That was it. This was a dream—a nightmare. There was no way this could be anything but.

"No. Kudo Shinichi," Kaito replied around Saguru's hand. "Just on the cheek, and…yes. Maybe. Just a little bit. I don't know." The magician blushed, and Hakuba was tempted to smoother the boy with his lips right then and there.

"So…_Kudo Shinichi_ kissed you _on the cheek_, and you had some kind of reaction to it, right?" Saguru took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger, frustration, and lust under control.

"Yes." Those beautiful indigo eyes looked at him pleadingly.

"Okay. Deep breaths." The detective bit his lip and thought hard. "So…I wouldn't worry just yet. I mean, it could just be a fluke. Have you ever felt that way about any other guys before?"

"No." Kaito shrugged, calming down some.

"Do you find yourself staring at men and fantasizing about them?"

"No." The brunette's nose crinkled up in disgust as he imagined it.

"Then you're probably not gay, Kaito," Saguru sighed. Bollox.

"Thank god!" the magician exclaimed, letting his head fall to the side to rest on the blonde's shoulder. "I was seriously freaking out there for a minute."

"There's nothing wrong with being gay, you know," Hakuba mumbled somewhat dejectedly.

"I know," Kaito replied, and it sounded like he really did mean it. "It's just…I don't have anything against gay guys, but I wouldn't want to be one. Don't they get bullied a lot? It's really hard, isn't it? People reject you and are mean to you for no reason, right? I have more of a problem with the idea of getting bullied than the idea of sleeping with another guy."

"Oh?" Saguru cheered up tremendously at that.

"Though, I don't think I'd like sleeping with another guy. It'd probably be uncomfortable, and girls' bodies are prettier. Sausages are just plain ugly."

Saguru loved how honest Kaito was being.

"So…you'd have no problem, if I told you that I was gay?" the Brit tried experimentally.

Kaito shrugged, picking his head up off of his friend's shoulder. "Depends. Are you going to molest me?"

"Not without your permission," Saguru promised.

"Then I'd have no problem with you being gay." The brunette smiled, making Hakuba's stomach do flips. "All right. I'm going home. Thanks, Saguru."

"You're welcome." Hakuba ruffled Kaito's already messy hair. "Now get out. I'm going to sleep."

"Dream of me," the prankster replied in a mock-sweet voice, messing up Saguru's hair in return.

"Oh, I will," the detective snorted, knowing that he probably really would. "Good night, Kaito."

"Night!" the imp called, disappearing into the darkness.

…

l^u^l

Mikau: Random face sticks its tongue out at you. So, I went to a bookstore the other day, and they just so happened to have the first volume of Conan. I flipped to page sixty, and there on the bookshelf was the first volume of Magic Kaito. They left it in Japanese, but it was still there. Also, I was walking with a friend the other day, and we went through the plaza. There was caution tape, so I said, "Maybe they found a dead body." My friend called my attention to the balloons decorating the plaza, so I said, "Oh. Well, maybe it's not—" "—No, it's probably a dead body," she responded. Then we tried to figure out whose death was being celebrated. (It was really just a barbeque fund raiser thing.) Thanks for reading! I'd like to know what you thought, if you have the time.


	27. A Look Into the Subconscious

Mikau: Hey there. Nice to see you again. Sorry that this is such a short, filler chapter, but I felt the need to make things right between the two brunettes again before moving on. Thanks much to SumiAmaya (I had to look up Double Rainbow, by the way. It was…interesting.), athieisademon, CherieGrey, icarusdg, and kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. Please enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd fire whomever was in charge of checking Magic Kaito for discrepancies. I'm translating it for my Japanese 499 class, and in the chapter Kid's Busy Day Off, there are several issues with time. Kid says he'll come back for the Angel's Crown at six o'clock the following Sunday, but when Kaito's at Tropical Land and looks at his watch saying it's just about time to leave for the heist, it's already nearly seven thirty. I just frowned and thought, "Honey, just enjoy your date. You're already an hour and a half late anyway." Then when he's racing to get back to the Captain E.T. show, he says he's only got one minute left. Then, on the same page, he only has four minutes left. I thought, "Wow. I wish I had time warping powers. That would really come in handy when I'm running late (which is once a year tops, but…)." On the next page it's one minute and fourteen seconds. I had to tell my sensei that no, I my translations are just fine, thank you. It's the original text that's whacky.

…

A Look into the Subconscious

"I came to apologize for teasing you last night." Edogawa Conan smiled sheepishly up at his crush. "I hope I didn't make things awkward between us."

Kaito rolled his eyes at the child standing on his porch. "Wanna come in and play Clue?"

"I'd love to," the re-shrunken detective sighed in relief. He then squeaked as the magician picked him up and hugged him.

"I'm so glad to have my little Shin-chan back! The big one was a little intimidating," the younger teen confessed, carrying the smaller boy into the living room. "It was weird!"

Conan's inner Kudo Shinichi face-palmed. "Kaito, you're wounding my ego."

"I'm sorry, but I much prefer Tantei-kun to the meitantei." Kaito set Conan down on the couch and went to make coffee.

Shinichi sighed. He'd soon change his crush's mind.

After about an hour of Clue, Kaito gave up. "You've got to be cheating."

"You're just not playing the game right. You're supposed to guess what cards I have based on my suggested deductions, not just from the cards I show you in response to yours."

"This is a stupid game. Let's play poker," the thief snorted.

"What are we playing for?" Conan inquired, helping to put away the game board and pieces.

"Well, strip poker would be kind of pointless, and I don't have any money, so…there's really no point in playing, is there?" Kaito bit his lip, cocking his head to the side.

"Then…how about we play a word game?" the pocket-sized gumshoe suggested. "I'll say a word, and then you say the first word that pops into your head. I'll say the first word that I think of in response to the one that you say."

"Could be entertaining." Kaito shrugged, settling into the couch. "Go."

"Korea."

"Kiss, Kiss. Why'd you start with Korea?" the taller teen raised an eyebrow at his companion.

"It was the first thing that came to mind." Conan stuck out his tongue. "Why does Korea make you think of kissing? Got a fetish I don't know about?"

"Oh, I'm sure there's one or two I've kept a secret from you, but Kiss, Kiss is a song. The singer's Korean."

The older boy nodded. "CPR."

"How unromantic," the violet-eyed brunette scoffed. "Dummy."

"Kid."

"Excuse me?" Kaito's eye twitched.

"Kid dummy," Conan elaborated. "Like the ones you use to fool the taskforce time and time again."

"Oh. You are forgiven." The joker chuckled. "Kid, huh? Dad."

"Hawaii."

"Ocean."

"Fish."

"Murder."

"Really?" The four-eyed boy blinked. "That's…an interesting look into your psyche that I never expected."

"I…don't know where that came from." Kaito frowned, trying to tap into the part of his subconscious that had linked those slippery, slimy things with murder. He wasn't coming up with anything. "I guess I'll ask my mom about traumatic events in my childhood involving homicide and…you know."

"Yeah. I'd be interested in finding out. It could be the origin of your phobia." Conan nodded. "Murder, right? Uh…my life."

"Lies," Kaito sighed. "This has become depressing."

"Tell me about it." The shrunken detective matched his love interest's sigh exactly. "Edogawa Conan."

"Friend," the magician replied, frowning. Edogawa Conan had always been real to him.

"Kuroba Kaito."

The person in question smiled. "Let's stop there. I can't think of anything in response to that."

"Really?"

"Really," Kaito laughed. "Let's eat ice cream and watch something with Humphrey Bogart in it."

…

o(\_/)o

Mikau: It's Kara having a fit. Or an alien. Take your pick. So, my school offers fitness classes, and I went to Zumba on Tuesday. It was super fun! Now I have a whole bunch of songs stuck in my head. In other news, I can't speak Spanish for beans anymore. When I was in Costa Rica, it was really easy, but ever since I went to Japan, my skills have crashed and burned. However, ever since I got back to the US, my comprehension has gotten awesome. I understand everything my teacher says, and I just read a play and didn't have any problems. It's great and everything, but I can't come up with an explanation for it. While in Japan, my comprehension was about thirty or forty percent. Now, I'd say it's like eighty percent. It makes no sense. I suppose I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth and just go with it. Have a super special awesome day. Thanks for reading.


	28. Preparations for the Ball

Mikau: Hey there everyone. Nice to see you again. As you've probably guessed from my week-long absence, I'm not doing so well. My workload is a little heavy right now (I have to read a 400 page scientific novel about altruism and evolution and a 300 page novel in Spanish while translating Magic Kaito, fifteen pages a day. Kaito's fairly easy, but the rest take _sooo_ much time), and I'm feeling a little under the weather. America is making me sick because it doesn't want me here. It's definitely a sign that I should go back to Japan and see the Conan movie. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. You have no idea how much it means to me right now to have all of your support. I've been feeling so utterly crumby lately, and your kind words make me feel so much better. I'm honored to have reached one hundred reviews thanks to all of you. A heartfelt thank you to foreverandeveralone, Tsuna De Vongola Decimo, Aniki-xvi, DoodlingPlume, kakashikrazy256, hyemin2124, and Canadian who reviewed. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I never would have thought up Akako's Cobras of Cuteness. Yes, I made up that term myself, and I expect you all to call them that from now on. So, I was translating the chapter where Akako appears for the first time, and I was looking at the cobras on her outfit. They have facial expressions! And they're sooo cute! This from the girl with an insane phobia of snakes. Anyway, I love them. They're genius. I had never noticed that before, and it really made my day when I realized that the snakes glared and looked sad and got surprised. They're adorable.

…

Preparations for the Ball

"You came at just the right time!" Kaito exclaimed, pulling Saguru through the front door and up the stairs to his room.

Hakuba didn't even want to think about if he had come at the _wrong_ time. He'd just come over to drop off the manga Kaito had forced him to borrow, only to find his friend in a skirt and high heels.

Worst of all, Kaito's normally flat chest was now quite curvaceous.

"Do these feel real? I think so, but I wanted a second opinion, and I wasn't about to ask my mom."

Suddenly Hakuba found himself with handfuls of what felt a little bit like very firm Jell-O. "How should I know?" he shrieked, pulling back.

"Haven't you ever—"

"—NO!" the detective squealed, face turning the shade of an eggplant. "A gentleman would never…!"

"But that's boring." Kaito rolled his eyes, going over to his closet and picking out some male clothing. He then proceeded to strip nude and then redress. "Who else would know? It's not like I can ask Aoko or Keiko. I don't really want to feel up the witch. I'd have heard about it if the guys at school had ever…hmm."

While the cross-dresser clothed himself and considered his options, Hakuba was trying not to pass out.

Kaito hadn't been wearing his usual boxers underneath the skirt, but a lacey pair of black panties. And then he'd taken them off.

Sure, Saguru had seen the magician change for gym, but usually the underwear stayed on. The detective had not been prepared for a free show.

"Ah! I'll ask Shin-chan. He'd know." Kaito was now fully dressed and forcing his guest to sit down on the bed.

"I hope you mean the big one," the blonde sighed, regaining some of his composure.

"Either or." The weirdo with no modesty shrugged, picking up the beginnings of a dress and some sewing equipment from his desk. "With the way Ran-san carries Tantei-kun around all of the time, he probably has a good idea of what a real set feels like."

"Kaito, what the hell are you up to?" Saguru sighed, trying to push all of the disturbing things he had witnessed in the last ten minutes from his mind.

The thief held up a newspaper article and smirked.

The European sleuth frowned and read.

Apparently the Sasaki Group had acquired a pricey choker made of several billion yen's worth of diamonds and sapphires. They were having a grand party to show it off on August twenty-eighth on the top floor of the Sasaki Building—an opulent ballroom with a ceiling made almost entirely of glass. At the end of the evening, there would be a beauty contest, and the winner would be allowed to wear the choker and have one request granted by the Sasaki Group.

Hakuba blinked. "You're going to enter a beauty contest?"

Kaito smiled coquettishly. "Yes. Why? Don't think I can win?"

"_You'd win, if I were the judge."_ The detective rolled his eyes. "Got bored of the usual fare, Kaito? Decided to try something new? Play Cinderella for the night?"

"_Exactly_." The thief grinned impishly. "I have ulterior motives, but playing Cinderella is _exactly_ what I'm going to be doing." He put his sewing down and retrieved the high heels he had been wearing before.

"Those are…" Saguru blinked, inspecting the shoes more closely. They'd just looked like see-through plastic before, but…

"Glass." The trickster grinned. "I'm still working on getting used to them, but I should be able to run and everything by next Tuesday."

"You really are a perfectionist, aren't you?" The blonde shook his head in disbelief.

"Yep," Kaito chuckled, going back to his needle and thread.

"So…that's your dress there that you're making?" Hakuba didn't know if he was allowed to pry.

"Mmhm. It's a little elaborate, but I wanted it to be attention-grabbing. I'm hemming right now. It's longer in back than in front, so it's a real pain, but I think it'll look really good once it's finished. It's my masterpiece. In fact, I'm confident I'll be able to make every man in that ballroom sit up and beg with this dress. Want to see the sketches?"

"I think I'll wait for the real thing. It'll be a surprise." The lovesick detective smiled at his intended. "So…you really think you'll be able to make _every_ man there fall for you?"

"Of course," the self-assured thief boasted.

"Even me?" Saguru challenged.

"Do you fit the criteria for male?" the endearingly obnoxious teen snickered.

"Yes."

"Then I can make you fall for me," the kaitou decreed.

"Care to bet on that?" The detective knew he would lose, but it would be fun to witness Kaito going all-out. "Make me fall in love with you at the ball, and I'll do whatever you say for twenty-four hours."

"You're on." Kaito smirked, excited by the added challenge.

000

A few days later, a children's story book was delivered to Nakamori-keibu's house. An identical copy showed up at the Mouri Detective Agency, and a third book ended up in the mailbox at the Hakuba Estate.

_Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there was a poor magician named Kaitou Kid. Kaitou thought himself to be _very_ attractive, and most everyone else thought so as well. Unfortunately, the police and detectives only thought of Kaitou as a nuisance._

_Kaitou saw an opportunity to prove how enchanting he was to everyone when King Sasaki announced that he would be throwing a ball and allowing the most beautiful girl there to wear his precious diamond and sapphire choker._

_However, much to Kaitou's dismay, he did not receive an invitation to the party. Luckily, his fairy godmother rolled her eyes and said, "I'll get you an invite, so don't worry, Kiddo."_

_Kaitou went to the ball and danced with all of the officers. Even the White Prince fell in love with Kaitou, and _everyone_ agreed that he should get to wear the necklace. Satisfied now that everyone recognized him for his beauty, Kaitou returned the necklace and went home. And he lived happily ever after._

_The_

_End_

Saguru rolled his eyes.

Conan laughed and began to make arrangements for Shinichi to attend.

Nakamori-keibu cursed and headed to his office.

This just had to happen on his day off, too.

"So what have we learned from this?" he asked his men after they'd had story time.

"Kid's good at drawing," one officer called out.

"Kid's in love with himself," another offered.

"Absolutely nothing we didn't already know," a third volunteered.

"We need to rent tuxedos," the new guy replied.

"Kid shouldn't be allowed to write children's stories?" a guy in the back said hesitantly.

The good inspector rolled his eyes.

…

o.o

(l=l)

Mikau: It's a surprised Cobra of Cuteness. So, I'm going to Acen! I was panicking after I got back from Japan because the registration deadline to have your badge shipped to you had already passed, but my sensei needs help at her booth, so I get a free badge, and everything worked out. I'm going to be wearing my yukata, my Japanese yuurei costume, and my Little Red Riding Hood costume. Not sure which one on what day yet. Also, I'm excited for the upcoming "Once Upon a Time" arc of Come to Taunt Me since it will further the romance part of our story. If you could take the time to send in some feedback, it would make me happy. Thanks for reading!


	29. Once Upon a Time: Detectives' Quarrel

Mikau: Hello there! Good to see you. My mood has improved slightly mostly due to everyone's support and enthusiasm. I've decided that I can't give up or be lazy because readers like you are waiting to see what happens next. A huge thank you to Canadian, Nechangi, foreverandeveralone, Akarui Fuyu, CherieGrey, icarusdg, Aniki-xvi, and Kittychan H who reviewed. You guys really cheered me up, and I'm grateful. I work hard to produce enjoyable chapters in the future as well. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would have made Mouri at least slightly more competent. I mean, how did he get on the police force like that? Do they just take anybody, or what?

…

Once Upon a Time: Detectives' Quarrel

It was eight thirty-two and twenty-five point ten seconds on the night of August twenty-eighth, and Hakuba Saguru was sitting alone at a table near the grand staircase of the Sasaki Building's ballroom.

He was employed in watching the other guests like Watson would a rabbit, but whenever a new arrival was announced, he'd look up, expecting to fall in love all over again. He'd been there for two hours already (not including preparation time beforehand), and so far he'd been disappointed every time.

Dinner was finished, and there would be three hours of dancing and schmoozing before the beauty contest.

Kaito would have to arrive sometime within the next hour or so, if he wanted to get in a dance with _all_ of the officers.

"Saguru!" a jolly voice called out. "What are you doing sitting in the corner all by yourself?"

"Good evening, Father," the young detective stood in haste and gave the superintendent a small bow. "I was just keeping an eye out for Kid."

His father sighed. "Saguru, if you hadn't noticed, you're in a ballroom full of young, beautiful, rich, eligible women. Yet, you're looking for the Kaitou Kid?"

The blonde blinked. "I'm sorry, Father. I'm not following you. I'm _supposed_ to be looking for Kid. It's my job."

The police chief rolled his eyes. "Son, there are things in life more important than Kid."

"_Not in my world."_

"I'm telling you to forget about work for tonight and go fall in love. You're how old, and you've not even had your first kiss? Do you know what I was doing at your age, Saguru?"

Saguru shook his head, fiddling nervously with the buttons of his suit jacket.

"Half of the women's gymnastics squad," the burly man retorted. "Now, mingle, fraternize, fornicate—I don't care, but please just go meet women."

The detective blushed, turning the same color red as his dress shirt. "I-I-I think I'd rather just stay here and look for Kid, i-if it's all the same."

His father sighed, frowning in disappointment. "You'd rather work than talk to women? What's wrong with you, Saguru? Are you gay? Did I not raise you right? Go have fun, or you're grounded," the superintendent snorted, stalking off.

Saguru sighed, collapsing back into his seat. "No, I'm bi, and you didn't raise me at all, you pompous jerk."

It was about twenty minutes later (twenty-one and thirty-four seconds, to be exact) that a very familiar brunette in a white suit took a seat at his table.

Hakuba blinked. "K-Kaito?"

The other teen laughed, and Saguru quickly realized his mistake.

"I'm sorry. I mistook you for a friend of mine. My name is Hakuba Saguru. I'm a detective working with the Kaitou Kid Taskforce." The English detective smiled sheepishly, bowing slightly from where he sat.

"I know who you are," the man in the pink dress shirt chuckled. "Kaito talks about you a lot."

Saguru blinked, and the smile vanished from his face. "You're Kudo Shinichi…. I didn't know that you wore glasses. They make you look a lot like your little cousin."

"I don't need the glasses, but Kaito likes them." Shinichi shrugged, reclining in his chair. "Do you know? Is he here yet?"

"I haven't seen him," Hakuba growled, tempted to strangle Shinichi with his own navy blue tie.

"You don't like me, do you, Hakuba-san?" The Detective of the East smirked. "Because we're both after the same thing, and, so far, I'm light-years ahead of you in the competition. Don't you think it's about time you threw in the towel?"

Saguru was silent for a good minute. "He's not some kind of prize, you know. This isn't a game."

"It's a war," Shinichi retorted, narrowing his eyes. "I know that even if he becomes mine, you could still steal him from me. Games have definitive ends; this war between the two of us is going to go on as long as the three of us live."

"I hate you, and I don't want to lose to you, but I don't want to fight a war against you either." Hakuba sighed.

"Because you know you can't win?" The blue-eyed detective smirked.

"Because I don't want to hurt Kaito," the blonde corrected. "We're his friends. You should know how important that is to him. I don't want him getting caught between the two of us. If you truly love him, as I do, you'll think about what's best for him and cease this childish behavior."

Shinichi paused, blinked, and then smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Hakuba-san. You're right. I'll do my best to act civilly towards you in Kaito's presence. It's just…I'm desperate. He's the only one who sees me for who I really am…who can see past these stupid glasses…who can love me the way that I am."

Hakuba blinked, the gears in his head starting to turn.

It was impossible, but if Saguru's hypothesis was correct, a lot of things made more sense—Edogawa-kun's maturity and intelligence, Kaito's behavior towards the boy, and the mystery of the relationship between Shinichi and Kaito, to name but a few.

"Well, I'm off to search for our little Cinderella. It's been a pleasure chatting with you, Detective. Fight with you again some other time?" Shinichi dipped his head slightly in place of a bow as he stood and made his way back towards the dance floor.

"Ah, Edogawa-kun! There's just one more thing I wanted to ask you." Hakuba bit his lip.

Shinichi turned and cocked his head to the side. "What is it?"

Saguru blinked and then smirked. "Why did you just respond when I called you by your cousin's name?"

The Heisei Holmes smiled bitterly. "You get used to it after a while." He turned to leave.

Before the European detective could call out to the former grade schooler again, a trumpet sounded, announcing the presence of a new arrival.

"Mr. Christopher Weston of the Weston Group from America, and his companion, Miss Ella Shindou."

Saguru looked up, and there she was—the woman of his dreams—Kuroba Kaito's twin sister. The detective swallowed hard, entranced by the picture of elegance floating down the staircase on another man's arm.

She smiled sweetly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks, as she took in the massive ballroom before her. She was playing up the naïve maiden bit for all she was worth, drawing all eyes in the room to her.

In all reality, Kaito wasn't really disguised. He'd added hair extensions and curled the ends, but the color was the same rich milk chocolate as always. He'd put on some makeup, adding false eyelashes, but the deep violet-blue of his eyes was his natural color.

Saguru took a closer look at the dress and almost died.

It was a scandalous thing, really.

The material was beautiful—all shades of blue, like the sky blending together with the ocean, and covered in rhinestones and sequins—but the style was the problem.

The dress was long like a mermaid's tail in back, stopping mid-calf, but the front was indecently short. If it rode up even the slightest, they'd all be treated to a view of whatever underwear Kaito had deemed fit to sport that evening.

The front was also troublesome. It was extremely low-cut, and Kaito's chest looked like it was considering popping out to say hello any minute.

The detective absentmindedly wondered how Kaito was keeping those bowling balls up.

There was no way that he was wearing a bra. The dress had no back, so any support device would have been visible.

They must have been held up only by the halter top strap around the thief's neck.

"_42D. Looks heavy."_ Hakuba rubbed his own neck. He was beginning to have sympathy pains.

Finally, after mentally noting that Kaito had _sinfully_ nice legs, Saguru's eyes came to rest upon the glass heels adorning his love's feet.

He smiled, wondering if anyone else had noticed "Shindou Ella's" footwear.

The detective watched for about an hour as the princess of the evening flitted around the ballroom, always on the arm of some man or another.

It was amusing to observe the little social butterfly.

Jealousy only reared its ugly head when he noticed his rival approaching his intended.

000

"May I have the next dance, Princess?" Shinichi put on his most charming smile as he bowed.

"Ella" smiled coyly. "But of course."

"I love your dress," the detective whispered into his beloved's ear, pulling her body close to his for a slow dance.

"Made it myself," Kaito chuckled in a voice an octave or so higher than his own. "Nice glasses, Shin-chan."

"I wanted to make you feel more comfortable," the meitantei confessed.

"What do you mean?" the thief shifted in his friend's arms.

"You're finally used to my adult voice after—what? Like two months?—but you still seem to tense up a bit when I take the glasses off." Shinichi's lips brushed against Kaito's earlobe.

"Just a little bit," the belle of the ball pouted.

"Still. I wanted you to feel comfortable for tonight." The older teen gently nuzzled his love's neck.

"What are you on about?" Kaito chuckled at the tickling sensation of the cool metal frame of the glasses against his skin.

Shinichi took a deep breath and pressed his lips to the base of Kaito's throat.

"Shin-chan? What are you doing?" the shorter brunette asked, body tensing slightly.

The detective placed a soft kiss on the thief's cheek. "Kaito, don't freak out, but…I like you."

The magician's mind went blank. "Eh?"

"I like you," Shinichi repeated, staring the shorter boy right in the eye. "Ever since the day I told you I couldn't be Kudo Shinichi anymore and you held me, I've liked you. Kaito, you saved me. You always save me. Whenever I sink into the depths of despair, you're always there to pull me up again. Everything you've done since that day has only served to make me fall for you even more."

"Eh?" Why did his legs feel like jelly? Why was his heart beating in his ears? Why couldn't he manage to put together even a single simple sentence to respond?

Shinichi smiled softly at Kaito's frazzled state. "It's okay. I know you're confused. I understand, so don't feel like you have to do or say anything. I didn't tell you all this to force your hand. I don't want any kind of answer from you; I just wanted to let you know that these feelings exist. So…do you hate me now?"

"No!" Kaito shouted, accidentally slipping into his own voice. He blushed, clearing his throat. "Of course I don't hate you, Shin-chan. I…I'm just confused. I'm not really sure how I should respond. I mean…I don't…I don't…"

"I'm glad," Shinichi sighed in relief, giving the magician in his arms a light squeeze. "I wasn't sure what I would do, if you said that you hated me."

"I'd never hate you," the thief mumbled. "So…we're still friends? I'm not sure…I don't know what happens after you get confessed to." He hesitantly set his head down on Shinichi's shoulder.

"We'll always be friends, Kai-chan," the taller teen whispered. "Don't worry. Nothing has to change between us. I'd never make a move on you as Conan, so don't be anxious. You're perfectly safe with him."

"What about with Shinichi?" the princess mumbled.

"I plan on courting you whenever I'm my proper size," the older boy admitted. "Feel free to tell me if you're uncomfortable, though. Say the word, and I'll stop. It's up to you, Kaito, what happens between us. It's your decision. There's no hurry, so don't rush. Just think about it, and I'll wait as long as it takes."

"So…you want me to be your girlfriend?" Kaito gulped.

Shinichi nodded. "Or 'boyfriend,' if you prefer."

"I don't…I don't know."

"Then let's just be friends for now." He could wait. "I'm sorry if I made things awkward for you."

"No, it's fine." Kaito smiled softly, putting his Ella persona back on. "I'm glad that you told me, Shin-chan."

"I'm glad that you didn't freak out." Shinichi grinned, kissing the kaitou's other cheek as the song came to an end. "Enjoy the rest of the ball, Cinderella."

…

(-.-) zzz

Mikau: Shh. It's sleeping. So? What did we think? I kind of think Hakuba figured it out a little too easily—Conan and Shinichi, I mean. Oh well. There was really no other place for it, but…was Shinichi's confession okay? I hope you guys liked it. Next chapter of the Once Upon a Time arc is called "White Prince." Look forward to it!


	30. Once Upon a Time: The White Prince

Mikau: Hey guys. Always nice to see you. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed; I think we got record turn out this time, so thanks to athieisademon, Athina Dark-Angel of Death, AyameRose, Akarui Fuyu, Aniki-xvi, Canadian, DoodlingPlume, Anime Lover 3593, PheonixShadow, and Kittychan H. I really value what you guys think, and your support cheers me up immensely. Thanks again, seriously. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would be more cross-dressing Kaito. Period. Because, really, who doesn't love cross-dressing Kaito? It brightens everyone's day!

…

Once Upon a Time: The White Prince

Saguru had to stop himself from going over there and slugging Kudo.

Just what the hell did he think that he was doing putting the moves on Kaito like that?

And why in bloody hell was Kaito letting him?

Thankfully, the two parted ways after the one song, and Ella went back to flirting with every man in the room.

At three minutes past eleven o'clock, Saguru's turn finally came.

"I've felt your eyes on me this entire evening, Detective," Kaito's sultry female voice chuckled. "See something you like?"

"And a few things I don't." Hakuba stood, taking off his jacket and draping it over his beloved's shoulders. "I don't like having to watch all of those other men leer at you."

"That is to say that you want me for your own, personal leering pleasure?" Kaito whispered, his knee brushing against his friend's.

"I don't feel comfortable, you going around with all of that exposed skin." The blonde's cheeks turned scarlet. "Aren't you cold?"

"Nope." The thief smirked, taking off Hakuba's suit coat and swinging it over its rightful owner's shoulders. "I get off on this kind of thing, so I'm nice and toasty. Just feel how hot my body is," Kaito chuckled, wrapping his arms around the detective.

The Englishman's blush worsened. It was true. "So, you're saying that seducing other men turns you on?"

"A lot."

"Are you drunk?" Saguru gulped, trying to take a step back but running into the table.

"Nope." Kaito grinned, his teeth looking like knife blades. "So, I'm hott, right? Do I win the bet?"

"No," Saguru snorted, pulling away from Ella and straightening his clothing. "Your raunchy behavior is a major turn-off."

"Aww…come on. You know I'm to die for," the cross-dresser pouted.

"Yes, but the conditions of the bet were to make me fall in love with you. Love and lust are two entirely different things, Princess."

"Hmm," Ella hummed pensively. "Then…won't you dance with me, Detective Hakuba?"

"I'd be delighted, My Lady."

A nice long slow song started up, and it felt like a dream having Kaito in his arms.

"Are you enjoying the evening so far, Tantei-san?" the Cinderella of the ball whispered in his ear.

"Not really," Hakuba sighed, letting his head rest against his beloved's. "It's rather dull being surrounded by the stuffy upper crust of society while waiting for you to win a beauty contest. Everyone here is too full of themselves."

Kaito snorted. "So, you're not having fun at _all_?"

"Watching you running around seducing other men is…entertaining enough…. _This_ is fun," the blonde whispered with a smile.

"Hmm. I like fancy parties like this," Kaito mumbled. "The food…the clothes…the music…I think it's grand. It makes me feel special."

"I don't like them." The blonde took the opportunity to breath in the scent of Kaito's shampoo and body wash. Perfume too—all were scented like baked goods. "They remind me of when I was little and Mum would throw a party. I always sat off to the side and watched everyone else having a good time. It was like I was looking in through the window at a dream. I could look but never touch…. Parties like this always make me feel lonely."

"I'm sorry," Ella replied sheepishly. "I thought you'd have fun. I wouldn't have bothered, had I known. Sorry."

"What do you mean?" Saguru frowned. "It's not like you planned this whole gala."

"No, but I went out of my way to get us invited to it."

The detective blinked, pulling back to look at his friend. "You mean to say you planned the heist just because you wanted us to get to attend a party?"

"A little bit," the thief chuckled. "I wanted you to have fun. You never have the opportunity to cut loose, so I thought…something the matter? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Saguru stared at the blushing Kaito. "You did this for me?"

"Kind of." The brunette shrugged.

Hakuba couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you. You're the best friend a guy could ask for."

"You need more friends." Kaito deadpanned.

The tawny-eyed teen sighed as the song ended. "I suppose you're off to seduce other men now?"

"Are you tired of me already?" the drag queen pouted. "I'm not going anywhere until you admit that you're head over heels in love with me."

Saguru snorted. "Are you sure it's okay for me to monopolize your time? Your adoring fans must miss you terribly."

Kaito laughed. "They don't matter. I planned this heist for your sake, and if _you're_ not having fun, all my hard work was in vain. I'm staying right here, and for the next twenty minutes, I'm going to make sure that your evening rocks."

"Yes, Madam," the European sleuth chuckled as the belle wrapped her arms around his neck. "So…mind telling me what you and Kudo talked about that made you go all speechless? I'd really like to know the secret to getting you to shut up."

The busty brunette went scarlet, looking off to the side. "He told me that he…" Kaito gulped. "…that he likes me."

Part of Saguru's mind shrieked in horror while the other half thought, _"If that's all it takes to get you to make that face, I'll tell you I love you until I go hoarse."_

"And…what do you think about that?" the blonde finally asked after some thought.

Kaito shook his head. "I'm confused. I might…maybe…kind of…sort of…perhaps…there's a possibility that I…I…"

"You like him too?" Saguru sighed, deciding to expedite the process, however painful it may be for him.

Two pleading indigo eyes made contact with his golden ones. "I don't _dis_like him. He makes me feel all fuzzy, but it's not the same as it is with Aoko. I…may just like the attention. I mean, I've only ever liked girls, but…perhaps…someday I could like him too. I have no idea."

"It's okay not to know." The taller teen pulled his love in closer. "Don't rush into anything. You'll only hurt the both of you if you enter into a relationship haphazardly."

Kaito nodded with a shadow of a smile. "Thanks for listening, Saguru," he whispered, giving his friend a squeeze.

"Thanks for telling me," the detective returned. "You're adorable when you're all flustered like that, Miss Shindou Ella." He smiled, brushing one of her long bangs behind her ear. "I could kiss you."

"Oh, I bet you say that to all of the girls, you dog," the temptress chuckled with a smirk. "You'd be a natural playboy, if you'd stop being so shy. If you were my boyfriend, I'd be worried to let you out of my sight for fear that you'd charm some unsuspecting maiden and cheat on me."

"Kaito, if I were your boyfriend, I'd never lay eyes on another woman," Hakuba vowed, looking the brunette right in the eye. "I'd be completely devoted to you because that's what you deserve."

The magician blinked, face turning colors under the detective's unwavering gaze. He could feel his stomach twisting itself into origami butterflies, and his body felt even hotter than it had previously.

Kaito gulped and pretended to check the positions of the taskforce members just to break away from those molten gold eyes. "You see, that's what I'm talking about, Detective. If you keep saying things like that with a straight face, even _I_ might fall in love with you."

The brunette made the mistake of glancing at the Englishman again.

Hakuba's eyes were simply burning with some kind of powerful emotion that made Kaito feel oddly self-conscious in his revealing outfit.

He was suddenly hyperaware of the detective's hand on the bare skin at the small of his back, and he hadn't noticed before, but his fake breasts were pressed against the blonde's chest, and as they danced, from time to time, Kaito's bare thighs brushed against Saguru's.

The magician-thief found himself wishing he had kept Hakuba's jacket so that he would have something to use to cover himself. He wished he'd made the skirt a little longer or the neckline a little higher because under the gaze of those piercing tawny eyes he felt naked. He wished there were more material to the dress so that he could simultaneously pull it down and up a little.

Saguru hesitantly brushed one of Ella's bangs behind her ear and started to lean forward (not that there was much space between the two to close in the first place).

Kaito felt a little dizzy.

Was he about to get kissed by Hakuba Saguru?

Maybe.

Did he want to get kissed?

Yes.

By Hakuba Saguru?

Hmm. Maybe.

It was hard to tell if he actually wanted _Saguru_ or if anyone would do because he was just so damn turned on from all of the dancing and flirting and passing himself off as a girl.

He didn't have a lot of time to sort it out because Saguru's lips were getting dangerously close. He took a vote.

Kaito No1 thought kissing was gross, but Saguru was not gross, so maybe it would be okay. He voted for snuggling with the detective.

Kid helpfully pointed out the location of a janitor's closet that he thought Kaito should pull Tantei-san and the meitantei into.

No1asked Kid what the closet was for.

2.0 briefly wondered why he had even bothered asking the others.

Thankfully his decision was made for him when the possible almost kiss was interrupted. "Hey, Kiddo. Sorry to cut in, but you've got about five minutes to get ready for your quick change before the beauty pageant starts. Let's go."

Both Kaito and Saguru jumped, heads whipping around to look at "Christopher Weston," the man Ella Shindou had come in with.

"Right. Thanks." Kaito smiled sheepishly, shaking his head to clear it as he stepped away from his companion.

Hakuba caught Kaito's arm before he could get too far. "Who's your friend?" He eyed the other blonde in suspicion.

"She's my fairy godmother," Kid chuckled with a wink. "Sorry to cut our dance short, Detective, but I have to go to work. I trust that I have your vote?"

"'She'?" The sleuth looked at Chris Weston incredulously.

Chris glared at the taller blonde. "Let's go, Kiddo," she urged, voice rising a few octaves into a female range.

Shindou Ella was unceremoniously dragged off.

Saguru sighed, going back to sit at his table while he waited for the show to start.

"I saw that," a booming voice chuckled from his left side.

The young detective turned to see his father taking a seat. "Saw what?"

Did Chief Hakuba know that Saguru had been fraternizing with the enemy?

"That young, voluptuous thing that you almost kissed," the police superintendent chortled. "Did you get her phone number?"

"Uh…no; I didn't." Saguru blushed, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"Make sure to get her number after the contest," his father ordered. "She was really interested in you."

"Y-you think? How could you tell?" It was too good to be true.

"God, boy. She spent nearly triple the time with you than with anyone else. _You_ were the one dancing with her; didn't you notice the way she was batting her eyes and clinging to you? You find her after the contest, Saguru, and you take her to a nice hotel. You don't need me to give you _the talk_, do you?"

"That will not be necessary." The blonde once again found himself turning the same color as his shirt. "I think maybe I'll start by asking her out on a date, though."

"Don't let this one get away." There was a threat somewhere in there.

"I don't intend to." Saguru smiled as his beloved took her place on the main stage. "This one I plan to marry."

"Praise the lord," the superintendent sighed under his breath. "Finally something to take your mind off of that Kaitou Kid."

Saguru tried his hardest not to laugh.

….

bed

Mikau: Because that's what it is. A bed. The word looks like what it is, don't you think? The stems of the b and the d are the headboard and footboard, and the e is the middle. Anyway, I've started to go to Zumba fitness classes on Tuesday and Thursday at my school, since it's free, and I love it. You get a real workout just from dancing. Try it if you ever have the opportunity. Thanks for reading!


	31. Once Upon a Time: Stroke of Midnight

Mikau: Hey everyone! Ready for shameless plug time? I have a new fic called Love at Long Distance. It's HakuKai. I'd appreciate some feedback if you read the summary and it sounds interesting. I'd kind of like to know if it sucks or not. Anyway, nice to see you all. Thanks, as always for your comments and support. Thanks to Mitsuara, athieisademon, Nightpounce, CherieGrey, icarusdg, Nechangi, Anime lover 3593, DoodlingPlume, and Canadian who reviewed. You guys make my day brighter. I love hearing from you. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd think about character height in relation to each other a little more. The reason I say that is because Hakuba's tall, right? Well, his father is taller. Seriously. Like the tallest Japanese guy I've ever seen. Go look at volume three of MK when he shows up. It could just be the angle of the drawing, but Superintendent Hakuba looks like a giant.

….

Once Upon a Time: Stroke of Midnight

There were three rounds to the contest. During the first, each of the thirty contestants was asked a question to help the audience get to know her better.

Ella apparently liked magic tricks, sewing, and classic romance movies.

Once everyone had had a turn in the spotlight, the audience voted.

Half of the girls were eliminated, and the other half moved on to the semi-final.

There was another round of questions and voting, and five girls were selected to go into the final round.

Among the five was Ella who had said she liked guys who could stimulate her mentally as well as physically. They got extra points for being able to cook.

Hakuba made a mental note to get Baaya to give him lessons.

The last question was about what kind of things the girls would like to do on a date.

Most of them offered the standard responses like dinner and a movie or amusement park.

Saguru fished out his memo pad to take notes when Ella's turn came.

Kaito had been honest so far in his replies, so there was a good chance that the magician would continue the trend.

"I think it'd be neat to take lessons or something together—like dance or martial arts or cooking. Activities like bowling and mini-golf are also great because there's lots of time to talk and get to know the other person. It's good to be romantic sometimes with chocolate and flowers and candlelight dinners, but I think the most important thing is to have fun together and enjoy each other's company."

The final vote was quick, and the results came back just as Saguru had expected.

Kid did a good job of acting surprised when he won, though, and, to his credit, he didn't gloat. Instead, the thief sincerely thanked all of those who had voted for him and the Sasaki Group for holding such a lovely ball.

Sasaki Kaoru, the head of the group, congratulated Ella, shaking her hand.

Miss Shindou kissed the aged man on the cheek and smiled from ear to ear as everyone applauded.

The famed choker was placed around Kid's neck, and it was then that Saguru realized that Kaito had made the dress to compliment the necklace. It looked like it had been made to hang around the brunette's neck.

Saguru took a picture and saved it as his background.

"Now, Miss Shindou," the head of the group cleared his throat.

"Please, just Ella." Kid smiled sweetly.

"Now, Miss Ella," Sasaki corrected. "The other prize for winning the contest is a request granted by the group. You can take your time deciding, if you'd rather, but is there any wish that we can grant for you?"

"Oh, I think I've used up a lifetime of wishes just being here tonight," Ella giggled, looking genuinely happy. "It's been just magical. I really do feel just like Cinderella, but…there is one thing."

"Yes?" Sasaki Kaoru waited patiently. "Anything is fine."

"Could I have Hakuba Saguru come up to the stage, please?" She batted her eyes prettily.

"O-of course." The head of the powerful business empire was slightly taken aback. "Is that all?"

Ella shook her head. "You'll see. Saguru?" Kid made a dainty beckoning motion.

"You heard the lady," Chief Hakuba laughed, nudging his startled son on the shoulder.

The blonde got to his feet and made his way to the stage. "What are you doing?" he whispered at the thief.

Ella smiled, hugging his arm to her chest and lacing her fingers through his. "Step back when I let go of your arm," Kid whispered before turning to the crowd, speaking into the microphone. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my Prince Charming of the evening, Hakuba Saguru. As many of you may know, he is the son of the Superintendent of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and currently working to apprehend the Kaitou Kid. What you may not know is that in approximately thirty seconds it will be his birthday. For my prize, I'd like to ask that everyone help me sing happy birthday to him. Ready? One, two, three…"

Saguru blushed as the entire ballroom sang to him, ending just as the clock started to strike midnight.

Ella smiled, kissing the detective just to the side of his mouth, and their lips accidently brushed slightly.

"You win the bet," he just barely whispered breathily.

Kid grinned, letting go of Saguru's arm to pull a pair of white gloves out of thin air.

The blonde stepped back as he had been instructed, a look of confusion on his face.

Ella began to take off the necklace as the bell continued to ring. "Thank you, Everyone. You've been a wonderful audience," Kid tossed the choker to a surprised Hakuba, and when he spoke again, his voice was his own. "but it's time for this princess to change back into a gentleman thief."

There was a flash of light as the bell tolled a twelfth time, and where Shindou Ella had been standing was the Kaitou Kid. "Happy Birthday, Detective Hakuba. Drive home safely everybody!" And then, in a puff of smoke, the thief was gone.

000

"How the hell did that damn thief know it was your birthday?" his father ranted on the way home.

"I tend to give out a lot of personal information in my self-introductions, and Kid does have an extraordinary memory," Saguru sighed, pretending to be heartbroken over the loss of Shindou Ella. "It was nice of him to plan a heist in order to wish me a happy birthday, though. I _thought_ Ella was too good to be true."

"What did he say to you while you were dancing?" the chief snapped. "Was there any kind of clue or anything?"

"No. Just flirting. It's really too bad; I actually liked her. I suppose I'll just end up married to my work instead of to Ella." Not that gay marriage was allowed anyway.

His father merely growled at that, and the rest of the ride home was silent.

Saguru quietly tiptoed up the stairs to his room in order to avoid waking Baaya, and he didn't even bother turning on the light before he began undressing.

"I'd rather have some foreplay before we started taking clothes off, but if you prefer quick and dirty, that's fine by me, Detective Hakuba."

The blonde jumped a good two feet at the unexpected sound of Kid's sultry voice. He turned to see Ella lounging on his bed with a bow tied around her neck. His mouth fell open.

"Happy Birthday, Detective. Time to open your presents," Kid teased, baring his neck.

Hakuba needed a cold shower. Stat. He shook his head and sighed. "Kid, what are you doing here?"

"Putting on a free show in honor of your birthday." The thief shrugged, getting to his feet and sauntering across the room. "Don't tell me you're not enjoying this."

Saguru gasped as Kid's arms hooked around his neck and a bare thigh slide between his own.

"I know about your feelings for Kaito," the phantom informed him. "I must admit, I like him too, but it'd never work out between us. I find myself partial to Shinichi rather than you—because of the face. The eyes are wrong, but if you messed up the hair, you'd have a pretty convincing Kaito."

"Wh-wha-what are you talking about?" Hakuba's flight instincts were kicking in.

Kid rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Relax. 2.0 and No1 are asleep. It's just you and me, Saguru. You could do anything you wanted, and they'd never know. My lips are sealed, so…did you want to…?"

"No." The detective's reply was instantaneous. He pulled away, re-zipping his pants and reaching for his shirt. "Regardless of my feelings, it's wrong to just…to just…without his permission."

"Okay. I get it." Kid backed away slowly with his hands up. "Sorry. I just thought…well, I'm a physical person, so it doesn't make much difference to me. Call me a slut if you want, but I just like being touched. The other two rarely get close to people, so I don't get much physical contact. I was just thinking that we could kill two birds with one stone. It was just a thought since I don't have much else to give you in way of a present."

Hakuba gave the Kid a gauging stare. "You…don't have to do that. If you don't even like me… I don't need presents, Kaitou."

"I don't care if you don't _need_ any, you rich little brat," the thief chuckled. "I wanted to give you something…I just don't have anything to give. It's a little hard to go shopping when you're only allowed out for heists."

"It's the thought that counts." Saguru smiled, calming down now that he understood the situation. "However, there _is_ something that you can do for me."

"Yeah?" Kid's ears perked up.

"Just keep being my friend."

The brunette laughed. "Like I planned to stop any time soon. Isn't there _anything_? Maybe like a hickey or a kiss or lap dance or 2.0's secret ticklish spots or...or _something_?"

The blonde bit his lip. "Hey, Kaitou? Does Kaito have feelings for me at all like he does for Kudo?"

Kid's eyes widened slightly. "No1 likes you, but he's kind of mentally somewhere around the age of ten."

"No one? Is that what you call the first Kaito?"

The thief nodded. "It's not 'no one' as in 'not anyone,' but as in 'number one.' He's rooting for you. 2.0's a little confused at the moment, trying to figure out if he's gay or not. You've made his heart skip a couple of times, though, so I wouldn't despair just yet."

"Thanks," the detective sighed with a content smile. There was hope.

"Yeah, yeah. Not much of a birthday present, if you asked me, Saguru." Kid rolled his eyes and started to walk towards the balcony door. "You sure you don't want anything? I mean, here you have Kaito's willing body. Once in a lifetime opportunity. If it were me, I'd…what was the phrase? Put him through a mattress?"

That coy little grin of his was enough to finally snap Hakuba's resolve.

"Just…hold still," the detective mumbled, wrapping his arms around the body of the man he loved. He ran his fingers through Kaito's hair and down his bare back while he nuzzled the magician's neck, taking in the scent of Ella's perfume. "I love you, Kuroba Kaito," he whispered.

"I lov—"

"—Don't." Saguru placed a hand over Kid's lips. "Someday he'll say it himself." He pressed his forehead to the other teen's. After giving the thief an Eskimo kiss, the blonde pulled back, saying, "You should probably leave before I decide being a gentleman is overrated. Thank you for the birthday present."

"You're welcome." With a kiss on the cheek and a sharp salute, the Kaitou Kid vanished into the night.

….

( T.T) \(^.^ )

Mikau: Confession: this one really isn't mine. I found it on my phone, and I love it, so I thought I'd share. So, I've realized that at every lunch before Spanish class I say, "I don't want to go to Spanish today, because…" There's always a different reason, but I never want to go to Spanish. Which is a shame because it's a very interesting topic: literature and film. I just never feel like going. However, I go to every class just the same. Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. Feel free to send in your comments/praise/constructive criticism if you have time. I'd also appreciate it if you took a look at Love At Long Distance, if it sounds interesting. Hope to see you next time!


	32. A  October Afternoon

Mikau: Hello guys. I have to go give a talk about study abroad to the guys going on the China/Japan program I did two years ago, and all I can think of is how jealous I am that they get to go and I don't. It's put me in an extremely sour mood. I thought I was getting better, but I guess depression comes and goes in waves. Thanks to those of you that reviewed: Aniki-xvi, Kittychan H, kakashikrazy256, Ms. Poet, athieisademon, and Hello. Hope you enjoy the chapter; sorry for my rotten mood.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd still be in Japan.

…

An October Afternoon

"She can't just die!" Kaito exclaimed at the end of Moulin Rouge. "Their love was supposed to be eternal! How can they have eternal love, if she dies? He should have committed suicide or something. That ending is unacceptable."

"Kaito, calm down," Shinichi chuckled. "I never realized you were such a hardcore romantic."

The magician sitting beside him on the couch bristled. "Well, I am, and he should have died too. How can he say he loved her if he didn't die with her? How can he go on living without her?"

"Sometimes it takes more courage to go on alone. Do you think she would have wanted him to die?" the Detective of the East asked.

The younger teen paused to consider.

His forehead crinkled.

"Would you want me to kill myself if you died?" Shinichi whispered.

"No!" the violet-eyed boy exclaimed. "Of course not, but we're not…" He swallowed hard. "Would you…really consider…?"

"Hmm…I wonder." The Heisei Holmes smiled lovingly at his intended. "You _are_ the only thing that makes my life worth living. I doubt I could continue on as Conan forever without you by my side."

Kaito blinked, unable to tell if his friend was being serious. "Don't say things like that, Shin-chan. You've got plenty to live for. You shouldn't live with your life revolving around one person like that." He leaned over the detective to reach the popcorn on the table.

"Then why do you think Christian should have killed himself?" Shinichi challenged.

"Because that's a movie. Love like that doesn't exist in real life," the shorter brunette snorted.

"I think you're wrong. My love for you is like that, Kaito."

The hand supporting Kaito slipped, landing him right in the great detective's lap. He swallowed hard, slowly pushing himself up.

His eyes met Shinichi's bright blue orbs, and he swallowed again.

"Kaito?"

The way the older teen was looking at him had Kaito paralyzed; he'd never been loved before. Not _that_ passionately, anyway. It was a little overwhelming to find himself so strongly desired.

Shinichi gently cupped the frozen teen's jaw, slowly running a thumb over Kaito's half-parted lips. "Kaito, I'm going to kiss you in approximately five seconds unless you stop me."

The magician's brain began to panic as Shinichi started the countdown.

Kid grinned, commenting off-handedly that Mom wouldn't be home for hours and there was still a box of you-know-what in the hall closet.

No1 muttered "Yuck" and whimpered for Saguru.

2.0 closed his eyes and discovered that kissing was nice.

It made him dizzy and warm…sort of giddy.

He liked the feeling of Shinichi gently nibbling on his lips and running his hand through Kaito's hair.

The little sucking, smacking sounds he could do without, but the feeling of being kissed was nice.

He was a little sad when Shinichi pulled back.

"We should stop before we go too far," the detective sighed, studying the dazed look on his beloved's face. "I only have thirty more minutes left before I change back, and when I make love to you, I want to make sure I have time to do it properly."

Kaito nearly passed out right then and there. "Un." He quickly jerked back, making sure that he was on his side of the couch. He pointedly avoided looking at his guest. "Um…that…I…I'm not sure if I…if I… Shin-chan, I don't want…I'm confused."

"I'm sorry for confusing you," the detective whispered, smiling contentedly. "Your feelings for me seem to be making some progress, though. I mean…kissing another guy didn't gross you out, did it?"

"No, but…I don't know if that means I want to start dating guys. I don't think I'm ready, but leading you on is wrong, and…" The younger brunette shook his head with a sigh. "Sorry."

"Don't be. I told you I'd wait, didn't I? What's a few more months?" Shinichi leaned in and kissed Kaito on the cheek. "I should get going if I want to make it back to the Professor's before I start to change back. I'll call you later, Kai-chan."

The magician blushed and mumbled a standardized reply, brain not up to doing much more than that.

000

Hakuba had been hard at work on a cold case when a weak tapping at his balcony door made him jump. He blinked. "Kaito?"

The magician muttered a quick greeting before stumbling in and lying down face first on the couch. "I'm a terrible, horrible, awful person. I'm a slut. I'm a tease."

"Um…would you like something to drink?" the British detective offered, biting his lip. "I have hot chocolate."

"I don't deserve a friend like you." Kaito's howl came out muffled by the couch cushions.

"What's happened?" the blonde inquired, setting the steaming cup down on the coffee table. "Sit up to drink. Don't scald yourself."

The brunette looked up, caught sight of Hakuba's reading glasses, and let his head thunk back down. "Why are you wearing glasses?" he groaned

"I was doing a lot of reading, so…is there a problem with my glasses?" Saguru was feeling quite uncomfortable with the unusual situation.

Then it clicked.

"Which one was it? The big Shin-chan or the little Shin-chan?"

"Big Shin-chan," Kaito grumbled.

"What's he done now? Propose?" Hakuba could just feel the irritation building.

Kudo had been getting increasingly forward with Kaito over the past two months since the ball, and Saguru was the one who had to hear about the magician's guilty conscience every time he accidentally mislead the Japanese detective by allowing him to take liberties.

"He kissed me," the brunette whispered, and Saguru had to have him repeat it twice.

"Did you push him away or say no or slap him or something?" the detective asked urgently, fingers crossed.

"No. I let him. I may have even started to kiss him back. It would have gone farther had he not stopped. He said he wanted to make sure he had enough time to do things right when he slept with me." Kaito sat up, hanging his head in shame.

_When_. Not _if_ Kudo slept with him.

Saguru cringed. "And…you…you _wanted_ him to…"

This was hard.

Hakuba held his breath.

"You see, this is why I'm a terrible, horrible, evil slut. I want to do all of the physical stuff, but I don't want all of the boyfriend/girlfriend responsibilities. I mean, I like the guy, but he's in _love_ with me. It'd be wrong to do stuff like that with him just because I'm a horny teenager. I really like fooling around, but…I don't think I'm in a position to fall in love right now."

"Why? Because you still love Aoko?" Hakuba knew it was a hard subject for Kaito, but it was a problem that desperately needed to be resolved.

"Yeah," the magician-thief mumbled.

"You need to make a clean break with her, Kaito. You know that you're just dragging her along too. She really does think that you two have a future together, and if you're not going to follow through on what you have with her, you need to tell her so that she can move on. I don't mean to make you feel guilty or imply that this is somehow your own fault, but I think you just need to be honest with all parties concerned. I'm not saying that you won't hurt them, but it's better than building up their hopes and expectations only to break it off later. Coming clean will probably make _you_ feel better as well. You're not a slut, Kaito." The detective smiled softly.

The brunette looked up at his friend, grinning weakly. "What would I do if I didn't have you to be my moral compass?"

"You'd have to ask someone else which way was north, but I think you'd do okay. You're not a bad person, Kaito, you just have a very complicated life." Hakuba fondly patted his crush on the head.

"I'm serious," the magician whined, picking up his hot chocolate and blowing on it. "I don't deserve you."

"Regardless, I'm yours," the sleuth sighed, beginning to straighten his room.

Kaito watched his friend work while quietly sipping at his cocoa. "You know, it's funny," he chuckled as Hakuba started to make organized piles out of the mess of papers.

"What is?" The blonde fought down a blush, trying to ignore those indigo orbs' keen gaze.

"At first, Kid started to visit in order to comfort you, but nowadays you're the one doing all of the comforting." He cast the taller teen a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever for?" Hakuba looked up. He wasn't quite sure why he was receiving an apology.

"A lot of things." The magician began to rub at the back of his neck. "I was really arrogant. I felt sorry for you, and I thought that you needed me. I was wrong about you, Saguru. You're really strong, and it turns out that _I_ need _you_ more than you need me. Here I just come crying to you all of the time. It's pathetic; don't you get tired of me?"

"No," the detective responded firmly, setting the papers down on his desk and going over to sit by his thief. "Kaito, I like having you come to me…. Okay, if we're being completely honest, sometimes it makes me want to smack you, strangle Kudo, and dropkick Edogawa, but… It makes me happy when you confide in me. It makes me feel like I'm more your equal than your charity case. It makes this friendship feel more real to me, so don't hesitate to come to me with your problems. True friendship is give and take. Don't feel bad that you've been doing more taking than giving lately; at the beginning I was the only one taking, and in the future I'll probably need your shoulder to cry on once again, so…okay?"

"Okay, Guru." Kaito smiled serenely, making Saguru's heart flutter.

"'G-Guru'?" He gulped.

"Yeah. When you start those mushy friendship speeches of yours, it always creates a warm and fuzzy atmosphere conducive to sappy pet names," the imp chuckled. "Sometimes the things you say make me feel like we should be clasping each other's hands with bubbles and sparkles in the pink pastel background."

"I apologize for making you feel like the heroine of a mahou shoujo manga, Kai-chan. I'll try to tone down my friendship speeches in the future." Hakuba rolled his eyes, chuckling wryly.

Kaito's face turned fire engine red. "Thanks. I'd appreciate it…. Um…maybe pick a different pet name for me. 'Kai-chan' is what Shin-chan calls me when his intentions towards me are less than honorable."

"Oh…well." Murder once again crossed the gentleman detective's mind. "Ka-chan and To-chan are out because they both sound incestuous, so…how about just 'Kai'?"

"I could deal with being 'just Kai.'" The magician shook away the infuriating blush. "Okay. Enough touch-feely, mushy, icky stuff. Time to do something manly to help me forget about how I just made out with another guy."

"We've already exhausted my supply of films starring Humphrey Bogart," Saguru sadly informed him.

"It's fine. We need something manlier than Humphrey Bogart to combat mushy, icky stuff of this magnitude."

"Manlier than Humphrey Bogart?" Hakuba faked a surprised gasp. "Blasphemy."

"Do you know who we need, Saguru?" Kaito turned, a look of determination etched into his face.

The blonde would have suggested Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, but… "Who? Who do we need?"

"We need Frank Sinatra."

Hakuba didn't even bother questioning the crazy brunette's unconventional standards of manhood.

…

o(/o\)o

Mikau: I'm throwing a fit. However, on the upside, my box of manga, magazines, and novels that I mailed to myself from Japan a month ago came in at my house yesterday. My dad said that only two books where bent, and one of my magazines is damaged but readable. That's pretty good considering I packed over a hundred volumes into a box and had it literally shipped to me by boat. I want to thank you guys for sticking with me thus far through thirty plus chapters. I also want to remind you fans of HakuKai that I wrote a fic called Love at Long Distance that you should check out, if you have time.

(Spoilers for the final pairing following.) The next arc of the story is going to be the development of Kaito and Shinichi's physical relationship while Saguru and Kaito work out their feelings for one another. There will be lots of twists and turns, and I hope you enjoy them, although you may not like Kaito through the next arc (even he doesn't really like himself much). At this point, I will take the opportunity to reveal the final pairing: it's going to be both KaiShin and HakuKai. Not exactly a threesome because there's very little romance between the detectives, but more like a sort of mutual support of each other because Kaito can be a handful/idiot. Of course the rivalry will continue, but it will get more friendly and less vicious. I hope you look forward to it, but it's still a long time coming. So, anyone angry with me? Anyone happy? If you decide to drop the story now, please don't tell me. I'm already depressed and stressed enough. I don't need to know. If you're happy about the direction or interested to see where I'm going or how I'm going to pull it off, then please, let me know. Criticism will not be appreciated this week. Tell me next week, and thanks for hanging in there with me this far. I really do appreciate all of your comments and support. The best to all of you. Thanks for reading.


	33. Conversations and Confessions

Mikau: Hey, guys. Sorry for the extended leave of absence. Don't worry; I'm not dead. Just busy and a little down, but I'm beginning to work on my after graduation plans, so there's been talk of my return to Japan, and that makes me feel better. It still won't be until next fall at the earliest, but…there's hope. Thanks so much to Anime lover 3953, athieisademon, Canadian, icarusdg, Aniki-xvi, Nechangi, DoodlingPlume, and kakashikrazy256 who reviewed. You guys really make a difference. Thanks for sticking with me. New chapter of Love at Long Distance is out, for anyone who cares. On with the story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the characters would have more of a family presence. Has anyone else noticed that the majority of the characters are only children with parents that are largely MIA? Shinichi, Ran, Heiji, Kazuha, Kaito, and Saguru are all only children. With the exception of the Osakan duo, the rest of the characters are missing at least one, but more commonly both of their parents. I think Sonoko is the only one with a sibling and two parents. Why I wonder?

….

Conversations and Confessions

"Hey, Honey!" Chikage paused after taking a closer look at her offspring sprawled out on the couch. "What's up? You look troubled…. In a different, more profound way than usual, I mean."

Kaito sighed, sitting up. "Mom? How do I tell Aoko I'm no good for her?"

The ex-phantom nodded, setting her bags down in the armchair. "You mean without getting into the details of your moonlighting activities?"

"Preferably." The teen grimaced.

"Why the sudden decision to forgo a future with Aoko-chan?" Chikage settled into the couch, trying to think things out logically.

"Saguru told me that it wasn't fair to string her along any longer…and there's probably someone else. They're crazy about me for some reason. I'm not sure yet, but…" The violet-eyed boy cast his gaze downward in embarrassment. "we kissed, and it felt right, so…I'm thinking that we're probably going to end up together."

Well. Kissing. Her baby was growing up.

"Do…I know this new girl? How long have you known her? How did you meet? When do I meet her?" It was hard to keep the questions down; she was just dying to meddle in her precious son's love life.

Kaito's face turned strawberry red. "His name is Kudo Shinichi," he mumbled, clearly mortified that he was telling his mother, of all people.

"Seriously? The Kudos' son? I knew you were friends, but…I'll have to call Yukiko-chan!" Somehow Chikage sounded more excited than was usually deemed acceptable when one found out one's only child was making out with a member of the same sex.

"Mooooom," Kaito groaned, trying to sink further into the couch so as to disappear. "Do your parent-gossip-thing later; I have a problem here."

"Honey, there's nothing wrong with being gay," his mother assured, stroking his hair lovingly. "As long as you and Shinichi are happy, I'm happy for you."

"That's not what I meant," the teen sighed. "_Aoko_."

"Oh. Right." The former thief's brow furrowed. "Just be honest. Tell her that you love her to pieces, but you're batting for the other team."

"Is that seriously all I have to say? I'm trying to avoid three things here: one, hurting Aoko; two, ruining our friendship; and three, getting beaten with a mop," the boy replied with a straight face.

Chikage couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think you have to worry about number two. Number one is a given, but she'll get over it with time. I make no promises about number three."

"Greeeeat." Kaito sighed.

"It'll be okay, Honey," she cooed, still stroking her baby's hair.

He looked up at her with those rich purple eyes, a questioning gaze. "Really?"

"Really," she replied firmly with a smile.

"Okay." The teen visibly relaxed. "See, I don't get why you think I need a man in my life to have these kinds of conversations with. I'd rather talk with you anyway."

"Oh, Honey," Chikage cooed. "You're such a sweetheart…. Speaking of men…I met someone."

"Oh?" the magician looked less than thrilled. "Already?"

"Kaito, it's been almost six months," his mother sighed. "I'm lonely."

"I know." He gave a similar sigh, setting his head down on her shoulder. "Sorry."

"It's okay. It's just…you're almost an adult, and adults don't live with their mothers. Adults move into apartments, get married, and start their own families. Which is okay. It's normal, and I want that for you, so don't feel like you have to hang around out of consideration for me. I want you to have your own life, Honey. That's not to say that I'm kicking you out or anything," she added quickly. "This is your home too. I'd never force you to leave, so do things at your own pace."

"I…don't want you to be lonely," Kaito mumbled. "I want you to find someone to be happy with, but…just…make sure he's not a dirt bag this time."

"Such a sweetheart," Chikage laughed, ruffling her son's hair. "His name is Sakurai Hiro, and he's a psychiatrist."

"Veto," the young thief snorted, raising his head. "I already know I belong in a nuthouse; I don't need a licensed professional telling me so too."

"It'll be fine, Kaito. He's nice. I just know you'll like him if you give him a chance. Will you please meet him?" She gave him the puppy dog eyes. While not as effective as Kaito's version, Chikage's still managed to tug at his heartstrings.

"After you've been dating a while longer. I'll meet him when you're sure that you guys are serious, but he's not allowed to shrink me. _Seriously_. And he has to pass the Shin-chan test. Those are my conditions," Kaito decreed with a pouty look.

"Deal."

000

"I think you handled the situation very well," Conan praised, blowing on his steaming cup of coffee.

"Thanks." The magician fiddled absentmindedly with the straw in his chocolate milk.

"Something else is on your mind," the detective deduced.

"The kiss the other day," Kaito easily admitted.

"Are you regretting it?" Shinichi mentally started panicking while Conan held his breath.

"No, actually." The taller brunette stared down into his milk as he twirled the straw round and round and round. "I liked it a lot. I was kind of thinking that I wouldn't mind doing something like that again, but…"

"But?" The pocket-sized detective was holding his breath again, unsure whether he should be rejoicing or despairing.

"That wouldn't be fair to you, Shin-chan." Kaito finally looked up, those indigo eyes meeting Conan's ocean blue ones.

"How so?" It sounded like a good deal to him.

"I'm attracted to you, Tantei-kun, but I don't _love_ you. My heart still belongs to someone else, and it's not right for me to be fooling around with you if my heart's not in it. I care about and respect you, Shin-chan, and it's not fair to just give my body to you if I can't give you my heart and soul as well. I may be a hormonal teenager, but I'm not completely without values. If we're going to do this, it's got to be an even trade—all of me for all of you."

Conan nodded, Shinichi's heart overflowing with joy.

"All I'm asking is for you to wait while my feelings catch up with yours. I'm going to try to be serious about this, so…give me some time? I'm pretty sure I'll end up falling in love with you, but don't let me fool around with you until I'm one hundred percent sure."

He smiled sheepishly, gaze falling back down into the chocolate milk. "Sorry to place such a burden on you. Sorry I can't be more responsible and police my own hormones. I know it's not fair of me, but—"

"—It's fine," the young detective assured. "I'm just glad that you're actually seriously considering this."

The magician shrugged, a small blush coloring his cheeks. "You're serious about me, so I owe you at least that much."

"So…where does that put us as far as labels are concerned?" Conan asked tentatively. "We're not dating, so it's not 'boyfriend,' but we're not just friends anymore, so…what are we?"

"Maybe…friends with benefits? That sounds wrong, though. It doesn't have the right connotations." Kaito sighed, picking at his brownie.

"We seem to be in the courting stage of the relationship, so maybe you're my 'intended'?" the former teen chuckled.

"'Courting'?" the magician laughed. "Seriously? Old fashioned much? You're not going to try and ask my father for my hand in marriage, are you?"

"No. I know that that's your choice, but I _would_ like his blessing." Conan smiled fondly at his beloved.

"We'll just have to hold a séance then." Kaito shrugged, picking up one of his twelve brownie bits and studying it. "I guess all that's left is to tell Aoko…. I'm dreading it."

"It'll be okay," the shrunken teen assured. "You've been friends for years. Something like this won't ruin things between you."

"No. I've got other secrets that'd do that," the magician sighed.

000

He really hadn't been planning on talking to Aoko right away. He'd wanted time to think and plan a speech, but, unfortunately, the inspector's daughter would have none of it.

Kaito had been talking to Saguru about the new chocolate parfait at Nancy's, heavily implying that the detective should treat the magician.

The brunette's chances were actually looking pretty good when the mop-wielder approached, hands on her hips, fangs bared.

"Kuroba Kaito, you've been avoiding me," the fierce, mousy-haired girl bellowed.

Her father would have been proud.

"N-not especially," he laughed nervously, his poker face taking a minute to boot up.

"Then you won't mind hanging out with Aoko today." Aoko smirked.

"Actually, today is a little…Saguru and I were going to—"

"—He's all yours, Aoko-kun," the detective replied pleasantly, pushing his love interest towards the hungry tiger.

"Traitor," Kaito hissed, being dragged off.

"Oh, you love me," the blonde chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"You bet your tea and crumpets I do, you wanker," the magician snorted.

000

"You _have_ been avoiding me, Kaito," Aoko muttered, seven minutes into their walk to the park. "We used to hang out every day, but then you started hanging out with Hakuba-kun more and more often. I mean, it's okay that you have other friends. Aoko's actually really happy for you, but…lately…these past two months…instead of just being busy, it feels like you're actually going out of your way to not spend time with me. I wanna know why."

The magician looked down at his feet, hoping that the ground would open up and swallow him.

"Did Aoko do something wrong?" the normally fiery girl mumbled.

"No. I did," Kaito sighed. "I've been keeping a huge secret from you, and it's eating me alive. It's easier to just avoid you so that I don't have to think about it. I'm sorry, Aoko."

"Does Hakuba-kun know?" she asked in a low tone that suggested that she already knew the answer and was not happy about it.

"Yeah. I tell the guy everything," Kaito chuckled nervously, biting his lip. "He told me that I have to come clean."

"What is it?" Aoko tensed.

"Even though I know that nothing can ever come of it…I'm in love with you, Aoko." He slowly looked up at her, not knowing what to expect.

Her eyes were wide and questioning.

She stared at him in shocked silence, so he decided to continue.

"But I'm no good for you, Aoko. I can't make you happy, and that's the most important thing. I have nothing to offer you, so I don't have the right to love you. I still want to be friends, though, if you'll have me." He cast her a shy smile.

"Of course Aoko still wants to be your friend!" the little fireball exclaimed. "Kaito, Aoko...I love you too!"

"I know you do," he confessed, lightly ruffling her hair. "That's kind of why I'm telling you now. I want us both to be able to move on without regrets."

"Why do we have to move on if we both love each other?" Aoko grumbled indignantly.

"Because, in real life, love isn't always enough," the romantic admitted. "You can do better than me, Aoko. There's a guy out there that can make you truly happy, and I don't want to stand in your way…." He gulped and took a deep breath before he continued. "Plus, I've got another secret."

She blinked, cocking her head to the side.

Kaito leaned in close and whispered into her ear, allowing his lips to lightly brush the outer shell. "Right now, there's this guy that I'm kind of involved with."

"Aoko knew it!" Aoko shouted.

The magician jumped about ten feet at the sudden interjection. "S-seriously? Was it that obvious?"

"Of course," the inspector's daughter snorted, quickly putting her heartbreak aside in favor of teasing her best friend. "Everyone knows without you even having to say anything."

It was Kaito's worst fear come true.

"I mean, what with the way you two flirt and hang on each other…always going off after school alone together and the way you pat him on the head. Gosh, and the way he stares longingly at you all during class. How could people not know?"

The indigo-eyed boy blinked. "Who are you talking about, Idiot? The guy's name is Kudo Shinichi. He goes to Teitan." Both the elementary and the high school.

Aoko blinked, those beautiful ocean blues making his heart skip. "It's…not Hakuba-kun?"

"What? NO!" The magician bristled, turning up his nose at the very idea. "Saguru and I are just friends. It'd be gross…like dating my brother."

The future cop puffed out her cheeks. "Don't say things like that, Ba-Kaito! Hakuba-kun really likes you!"

"No, he doesn't," the clueless brunette chuckled. "Aoko, I think I'd know."

She snorted, rolling her eyes. "You wouldn't know until he kissed you on the lips."

Kaito opened his mouth to respond, but then a faint memory of dancing with Saguru at the ball came back to him. Those smoldering eyes…the feeling of his body pressed flush against the blonde's…the perhaps almost kiss that had been interrupted by Kiku-chan.

He shook his head, clearing away the embarrassingly erotic scene from his mind. He made a mental note to send his benefactor a fruit basket…or maybe some dango. She seemed to have a weakness for the mitarashi variety.

"Aoko, that's ridiculous. There's no way he likes me; he's already got someone else that he's had a crush on for a couple months now, and there's got to be at least one of my best friends that doesn't _like_ like me, so…so there."

The little firecracker shrugged. "Okay, but I'm definitely saying 'I told you so' when you find out you're wrong. And you _are_ wrong. It's my woman's intuition."

"What woman?" Kaito snorted, slipping back into annoying-best-friend mode.

"The one that you're in love with," Aoko quipped back, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Touché," the magician clicked his tongue and laughed. "Sharp as a dagger. Man, I feel sorry for your future husband."

She sighed, suddenly losing all of her steam. "If Aoko can find one. All the plans I've been making these past thirteen years just went down the toilet."

"You'll find one," he assured. "Aoko, you're gorgeous. Any guy would be lucky to get you…. Besides, you're young. You shouldn't even be seriously thinking about marriage until you're…like…twenty-five or something, anyway. During high school is not the time to decide who you're going to spend the rest of your life with. It's a great plot for manga and movies, but, in real life, it usually doesn't end well. Very few high school sweethearts make it through the long haul, so just have fun. Date lots of people (though, not at the same time) before you decide to settle down, and if any guy ever gives you trouble, let me know. I'll make him beg for mercy."

This got a laugh out of his princess. "Thanks, Kaito."

"Not a problem," he chuckled, ruffling her hair. "So…can I treat you to dinner in honor of us breaking up?"

"Can Aoko order dessert?" She gave him a gauging look.

"As much dessert as the lady desires," he replied, giving a graceful bow.

"Perfect. Aoko's going to get cake and ice cream—oh! And an éclair. Aoko really wants an éclair!"

"Aoko, you're going to get fat," Kaito snickered.

The vicious lioness turned and glared icily at her best friend. "Am I going to have to get out the mop?"

That quickly shut the joker up.

"No, Madame."

…

o

O

O

\/

Mikau: If you squint, it's an ice cream cone with a cherry on top. Ha. So, I went to Anime Central over the weekend. It was kind of like a pilgrimage. We got in the car, started blasting J-Pop, arrived at the con, put on our costumes, and then we dispersed and started acting really nerdy. On Friday I was Little Red; Saturday was my yukata (blue with pink sakura blossoms, a red pagoda, and Mount Fuji), and Sunday I wore my yuurei outfit (complete with triangle headband!). I made it myself. Well, Mom made the Red outfit, and I bought the yukata, but_ I_ made my ghost outfit. I went to this panel about detective anime, and it was okay. The fire alarm went off about fifteen minutes into it, and we had to evacuate. Apparently there really was a fire. I was in the basement, but my friends were on one of the upper floors, and they said that one of the stairways was completely covered in smoke, so they had to find another way out. I saw a kid dressed as Kid. It was really cute, but he didn't look very happy about it. There was also a girl wearing a Kid hat and a shirt that said 1412 and had the Kid doodle. I never thought that I would see Kid at a con, but I was pleasantly surprised. The Cat Bus was cool too. It was an interesting experience, and I got a Kapibara-san plushie! I couldn't find one in Kyoto, so I was glad. Thanks again.


	34. Heartbreaker

Mikau: Hey there! Welcome back! Thanks to icarusdg, athieisademon, Athina Dark-Angel of Death, and DoodlingPlume who reviewed. It's very much appreciated, as always. I picked up my cap and gown for graduation, and it's finally sinking in that I'm graduating. On a side note, the last chapter of Love at Long Distance is up, and I posted another HakuKai fic called Change of Setting, Change of Mind for all those interested. There's not enough HakuKai on this site, so I'm working on HakuKai proliferation. Anyone care to join me? Also, I really dislike Kaito in this chapter. Let's all give Hakuba a hug and assure him that things will all work out in the end. He needs it. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't have had Kaito give that impassioned speech to Aoko in the Ghost Game chapter about how she couldn't come with him because she was a woman and he would never put a woman in danger. "This is man's work!" Yeah, right. I would have hit him with the mop. I hope that gets changed in the English version whenever it happens. Normally I'm all for sticking to the original Japanese, but take that scene out, please. It makes Kaito sound like a sexist chauvinist.

….

Heartbreaker

The following day at Ekoda High was one of mourning for the majority of the student body.

All of the people who had been betting for years on when Kaito and Aoko would finally make it official were left devastated by the pair's announcement that morning.

The two had walked into the classroom, hand in hand, chuckling and smiling like lunatics. They made their way to the front of the class, and Kaito snickered, "Do you want to tell them, or should I?"

There was a brief pause where they stared longingly into each other's eyes and smiled goofily before Aoko said, "You tell them."

This little show had Hakuba Saguru nearly biting his nails in anxious anticipation.

Had his efforts to get Kaito to come clean to Aoko backfired? Had the violet-eyed romantic changed his mind and decided to give a relationship with his long-time darling a go?

"Aoko and I have decided it'd never work between us, so we're going to date other people," the class clown announced, a full smirk on his face.

Then the happy not-couple took their seats, going back to laughing and joking like before.

Kaito and Aoko's respective fan clubs quietly celebrated while the rest of the class yowled in despair.

The sole blonde breathed a deep sigh of relief. If he was unsure (at best) of his chances of victory over Kudo, what would the prognoses of a battle with Aoko-kun look like?

The news spread like the flu throughout the rest of the school, and, by the end of the day, there was a betting pool on when they would change their minds.

Saguru bit his lip as the magician's fans approached to confess one by one, and one by one they were gently turned down.

The inspector's daughter also received quite a few offers. After Kaito's approval, she set up several dates.

Hakuba was slightly surprised when the little firecracker approached him during lunchtime when he snuck off to buy tea from the vending machine.

"Don't worry about it," the brunette sighed, leaning against the drink dispenser. "I'm not nearly as happy with the situation as I pretend to be, but I don't mind too terribly much either. It hurts, but…Kaito's right. Aoko shouldn't set her heart on just one guy when there are so many others out there…not when she's still in high school, anyway." She chuckled softly, smiling as she looked down at her feet. "Anyway, if it can't be me, I hope it's you. Aoko can tell you really care about him, so she's rooting for you. Good luck."

"Th-thank you," the detective sputtered, a little dumbfounded as Aoko walked away.

He couldn't help but think that she looked dignified and—quite honestly—cool as she went.

Nakamori Aoko was a worthy woman.

He respected and feared her deeply—feared her because he was afraid that he couldn't compete.

000

One of the three brunettes rapped lightly on his balcony door that night. Upon closer inspection, he discerned that it was 2.0.

The magician literally bounced into the room, a gigantic grin sitting slightly off-center on his face. "Saguru, you're the best, you know that?"

"W-Why do you say that?" The Brit turned his back and pretended to fuss over the endless piles of papers on his desk in order to hide his strawberry-colored cheeks from his crush.

"'Cause you are," Kaito laughed, making himself comfortable on the couch. "Thank you for making me talk to Shin-chan and Aoko. You were absolutely right."

"How so?" Saguru missed the days when they talked about his childhood traumas and overall pathetic life. Why was it that he found talking about Kaito's love life to always be several times more painful than his miserable past?

"It was the right thing to do," that gorgeous creature continued, oblivious to the hurt he was inflicting. "and it made me feel _tons_ better. They weren't even as upset with me as I thought they'd be. I mean, Aoko's not _happy_ per say—I can tell she's just putting up a front—but at least she's taking steps forward, and one day she _will_ be happy.

"Shin-chan wasn't mad at me either. I'd thought for sure that he'd get angry or frustrated or something, but he just agreed to go at my pace. He's really great, you know—the best. He…" Kaito went on, but Hakuba wasn't really listening.

He heard bits and pieces, like, "think it's gonna work between us," "actually really sensitive," and "when I get that mouth on my," but the majority he tuned out.

Kaito's words just added to the countless needles already in the pincushion that was Saguru's heart.

Hakuba sorted papers while the clueless brunette droned on and on. Murder, suicide, kidnapping, cold case. He'd gotten behind on his work lately. He'd been in a bit of a slump.

In the beginning, Kid had asked questions.

Saguru spilled his guts to the thief, and then he and Kaito had talked.

Nowadays, Kaito just talked and talked and talked and talked.

Kid had been noticeably absent lately, and there were never any questions.

The blonde really only got his turn to talk when Kaito needed advice or comfort.

There was no "how have things been going?" or "tell me about x." It was always "Shin-chan this" or "Shin-chan that."

Kaito talked _at_ him, not to him.

So Saguru spaced out, filling the time with pity, schemes to get away with murdering a seemingly eight year-old child, and self-loathing.

"…and then I'm going to push you down on the bed and rip your clothes off with my teeth."

Hakuba blinked.

"After that, I'm going to doodle all over your body in chocolate syrup and lick it off slowly until you're begging me to put you out of your misery."

"W-what?" the detective squeaked, turning to find his companion glaring at him.

"Our previous topic of conversation seemed to be boring you out of your skull, so I thought I'd talk about something more interesting," Kaito replied levelly, but Saguru detected a sulk. "Sorry that I'm such a dull conversationalist. If you don't feel like having me over, you could just say so, you know? If I'm interrupting your work, I can always just go and bug Shin-chan; he's always happy to see me."

"I'm sorry," Saguru mumbled, frantically searching for something to occupy his hands and eyes. "I didn't mean to zone out like that; that was terribly rude of me. I love having you over and talking with you, so please go on. I swear I'll pay attention this time, so please go on. Don't…" Don't leave me for him. "Don't stop."

But Kaito didn't say anything for a long while. Instead he gazed intently at his friend.

Hakuba held his breath, praying that something would happen—and soon.

Waiting in limbo was excruciating.

He'd rather have Kaito either call him out on his secret or go back to babbling about Kudo sodding Shinichi than wait any longer with those indigo eyes digging into his back.

"Something's wrong today…. No. Something's been wrong _lately_," the young thief mumbled, slowly rising to his feet. "You've been down lately, haven't you? You hardly say anything when I come over, and you don't have any energy." Kaito hesitantly approached his friend like a mouse trying not to wake a cat. "You wanna talk about it?"

Saguru collapsed onto the couch, turning his head to the side to look away from Kaito. "Not really. You know the person I like?"

"The one that you won't tell me anything about? Yeah?" The brunette took a seat, bringing one leg up to his chest. "Things still not going anywhere?"

"Worse than that, I'm afraid," the detective sighed heavily. "They've found someone else that they're just crazy about, and it's become painfully clear that I don't stand a chance."

Kaito gave a sharp inhale, as if in pain. "I'm sorry. That really sucks."

Hakuba made a small noise of affirmation, but then the room fell silent.

The magician shifted uncomfortably, biting his lip. "Hey, Saguru?"

The blonde in question gave a grunt of acknowledgement.

"Don't get all depressed or offended on me, but, maybe you should just give up?"

"Give…up?" The taller teen blinked, glancing at his beloved for the first time since his guest had arrived.

"Well, yeah." Kaito fidgeted, gazing at his friend in pity. "You've liked this person for a little more than half a year, but they've never shown any interest in you, right?"

"Y-yes," Saguru reluctantly admitted, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"It sounds to me like you're just wasting your time. At this point, it's kind of obvious that nothing's going to come of it, right?"

Hakuba closed his eyes and swallowed hard as he nodded. "Y-yes. I suppose you are right."

There would be no point in confessing now. It'd only ruin their friendship, and that wasn't something that Saguru could afford to lose. This conversation was as good as a rejection anyway.

"And…don't take this the wrong way, but…you probably don't even like them as much as you think you do," Kaito said gently, making the other boy give a start.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, you probably only think that you're in love with this person…like some kind of passing infatuation. In order to truly love someone, you have to spend a lot of time getting to know them—their good points along with their faults—and, Saguru, I'm the only one you ever spend time with outside of class. You probably don't really know the other person well, and you haven't had the time to really fall in love yet.

"I think you should try to let it go and move on. It could take a week or two, but you'll forget about them soon. Date other people—that helps a lot," his love interest went on helpfully, rubbing copious amounts of salt into Saguru's still bleeding wounds.

"Like…rebounding?" the blonde muttered softly, closing his eyes once more to prevent them from leaking.

"Yeah," Kaito replied enthusiastically. "Rebound relationships never work long-term, but they're great for getting you ready to get back into the game. Actually, I'm kind of considering asking someone out before I start anything with Shin-chan. I don't want him to be my rebound from Aoko, and at the present moment I'm really only looking for a good time, so…but he's serious about me, and I want to be serious about him too, so I really need to get all of this hormonal teenage male stuff out of my system. I have a feeling I'll really screw things up with Shin-chan, if I don't take care of my libido first.

"Of course, I'll let the girl know that I'm not serious about her, you know," he added quickly. "It'd be wrong to lead someone on like that, but as long as both parties know that it's just…well…_you know_, then it's fine. Don't you think?"

Hakuba wasn't really processing well at the moment, so he paused a while to let his brain catch up. When he'd put the pieces together, he blushed and said, "You mean…you'd _sleep_ _with_ someone you didn't love?"

Kaito blinked, cocking his head to the side. "You don't have to be in love to have sex. There's nothing wrong with using one another as long as both people know that it's just fooling around. I'd never sleep with someone that was serious about me if I wasn't serious about them as well. Then I really would be a slut."

"I suppose you have a point," the half-Brit muttered. "but I'd rather be in love with the person I'm sharing a bed with."

"Then I guess you wouldn't consider sleeping with me, would you?" Kaito chuckled, his words making the blonde jump. "'Cause I was thinking that you need a rebound, I need a rebound…we could just sleep together and kill two birds with one stone."

The room had started to spin. "A-are you serious?"

"Hell no!" the joker laughed, elbowing his friend. "I was _joking_ with you. Geez, Saguru, you really are out of it." He lightly patted the startled detective on the head, smiling fondly at his companion. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was honestly just trying to get you to laugh because you look so down."

Kaito leaned in a few inches from Saguru's face so that they were at eye level. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen you actually happy in a while. You're always frowning and sighing like Tantei-kun. If you don't stop soon, you're going to get wrinkles. Smile, Saguru."

The detective tried to push the irony of the situation from his mind. Here the one causing his pain was trying his hardest to help. Hakuba smiled weakly, looking his beloved right in the eye. It was all he could do to keep from crying…or closing the distance between them and kissing the other teen.

The brunette frowned. "You still look sad. It doesn't reach your…eyes."

Kaito blinked in confusion.

Saguru had the most beautiful eyes.

He blinked again and pushed those thoughts aside. "Man, this girl has really done a number on you. Want me to beat her up?"

"It's…not a woman," the golden-eyed boy whispered, nervously licking his lips.

Kaito blinked three times in quick succession. "Oh." Without missing a beat, he continued. "Want me to beat _him_ up then?"

Hakuba chuckled, a hint of a smile coming into his eyes. "As amusing as that would be to watch, it will not be necessary. It's not his fault."

"Is he in our class?" the shorter teen pried while his friend was in a sharing mood.

"Yes," was the blonde's brief response.

This made a light bulb turn on above Kaito's head. "Does he sit by me?"

Saguru blinked and considered the question. "…Yes. I suppose so. Why?"

"This will cheer you up." The brunette was chuckling already. "It's the funniest thing. When I told Aoko that there was a guy I was kind of seeing, she thought it was you! She was talking about how you supposedly stare longingly at me during class, and she's got this whole conspiracy theory about how you're madly in love with me."

"O-oh?" Hakuba laughed nervously. Apparently he hadn't been as discrete as he had believed.

"Yeah, but I guess you were just staring at the other guy and it only looked like you were looking at me. If anyone asks, though, you can just say that you're looking at Aoko. I doubt anyone else noticed; Aoko's weird because of her dad's job. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Oh…good." He'd have to ask Aoko-kun to keep her theories to herself in the future.

"But isn't that just hilarious, though?" Kaito continued to chuckle. "Just imagine…you and me, a couple!" He shivered. "Gross, right? You're like my brother or something. I just laughed when she told me."

"Right. Hehe." Hakuba did his best to smile and give a realistic-sounding chuckle. "You know what, Kaito? I'm suddenly not feeling well, so I'm going to go to bed. Thank you for coming over, though. I appreciate your help, and I'm glad that things are working out for you."

After assuring the concerned magician that it was nothing serious and he could be left alone, Saguru finally managed to get Kaito to leave, affording the devastated sleuth some privacy in which to wallow in his suffering.

….

American Culture

? (^.^) ?

Mikau: A symbolic representation of my understanding of my indigenous culture. It is quite literally over my head sometimes. A strange coincidence: one, apparently, there was a girl in the theatre department in an accident who is currently in critical condition. Two, my Spanish teacher's best friend's kid was hit by a car and killed. Three, one of the workers at the cafeteria was in a bike accident and has a couple broken ribs. They say things happen in threes. Scary. I really hope the cafeteria worker is okay. Everyone loves him because he remembers all of our names and how we like our omelets. He always makes vegetarian paninis and other entrees specially for me, and I teach him Japanese words. On a tangentially related note, someone told me that they like my stories but find them extremely depressing (thanks for telling me, by the way, if you're reading this. I appreciate your honest comments). I thought about it and discovered, "Holy mashed potatoes, Batman! They're right!" My stories _are_ really depressing. But…they all have happy endings. My stories are about overcoming our pasts and finding people who love and accept us. But…yes. I do seem to like writing angst, don't I? Maybe I'll try something happy in the future…. Sorry for blathering so much today. Thanks for reading! Take care!


	35. Lovesickness

Mikau: Hey everyone! Welcome back, and heartfelt thanks to Syrus07, Cyanide Flowers, AyameRose, dontfindafuckingname, athieisademon, kakashikrazy256, Aniki-xvi, and Canadian. The rest of you should thank them too because their enthusiastic reviews are the only reason that this chapter happened. Unfortunately, I've been struck down with a crippling case of writer's block for CTM. I keep rereading the chapter I'm working on, trying to finish it, but I keep coming to this one line and stopping. I can't finish the scene no matter how hard I try. Once I finish the scene, it'll be fine. I know exactly where I'm heading, but I need to write a page or so more to wrap up this stupid scene and feed into the next. I'll keep working at it, but things aren't looking so good. All we can do at this point is pray to whatever deity(s) we believe in (atheists, agnostics, and those belonging to a faith without a deity are exempt from prayer but encouraged to cross their fingers and hope really hard). Encouraging feedback would also be lovely. On a side note, there's a poll up on my profile about which story idea you'd like to see from me next. Please take a look and vote, if you'd like. Enjoy this chapter because I don't know when the next one's coming.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the canon couples would be different. My friend once asked me why I never wrote fics with "canon" couples, and I told her: "Because canon sucks. It's all childhood friend romances that just happen. They don't develop! There's no reason for them to be together—they just are. Aoyama-sensei, great as he may be, is no romance writer." How many people really find their soulmate when they're five? Not many, and yet all of the canon couples are childhood friends. Aoko and Kaito are really the only ones I support since there's actual conflict and plot and love rivals there. That's an acceptable childhood friend romance. Ran and Shinichi? No. Heiji and Kazuha is so-so. The only canon romance that truly works for me is Makoto and Sonoko, oddly enough. They're a little quirky, but they're a legitimate couple. The older generation romances are fine, though. The Kudos are solid, the Kurobas were good, and Mouri's marriage is…they're made for each other. I don't understand why the romance in the younger generation is so…lacking. Am I right?

….

Lovesickness

"It's just the influenza that's been going around," Baaya lied through her teeth to the Kuroba boy for what felt like the dozen-th time. "With some rest, Bocchama will be feeling better in no time, so don't you worry. I'm taking excellent care of him."

"But…he's been absent for almost two whole weeks now," the distressed brunette shifted uneasily from one foot to the other as he stood out on the porch in the crisp November air. He snuck furtive looks around her into the entry hall, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of his supposedly ill friend. "Couldn't I come in and visit—just for, like, fifteen minutes?"

The matronly woman sighed and opened her mouth to deny her charge's little friend.

"—Ten! Just ten minutes," the brunette bargained.

She frowned. It was difficult to send him away when he looked so desperate.

"Okay, five. Five minutes. Or…maybe just one? Please? Just one minute?" Kaito bit his lip and looked at her with those pleading purple eyes.

It was easy to see how her young master had fallen for the magician; he was very attractive.

"I'm sorry, Kuroba-kun. He's really in no position to have visitors at the moment. His immune system is very weak, and…"

The pitiful creature nodded, his gaze dropping to his shoes. He shivered as the cold wind sliced through his thin jacket. "I understand. I'm sorry…I just…he doesn't answer his phone when I call or text. I can't get ahold of him, and, like I said, it's been nearly two weeks."

(Not to mention the sliding door on the balcony had been securely locked, no one answered when he knocked, and the curtains were always closed. Not that that was really an obstacle. He could get in if he truly wanted to. No, it was more the implication that he was not welcome that stopped him from letting himself in to check on his detective.)

"I'm just really worried." The boy fell silent, staring at the wooden floorboards like they had the answers.

The nanny nodded and tried not to grumble as she recited the practiced lies. "He doesn't have much of a voice for phone conversations, and he's too weak to pick up a spoon, let alone a cell phone for texting, but I'll have him contact you as soon as he's able."

"Okay," Kaito sighed, nodding again. "But…could you give this to him for me?" The lanky teen pulled a greeting card out of his satchel.

"Of course, Dear. I'll let him know that you stopped by."

"Thank you, Baaya." The boy gave a polite bow before sighing and starting down the walk.

"Be careful not to catch a cold yourself!" she called after him.

Once she'd lost sight of the brunette, she slammed the front door and stormed up the steps to her charge's room.

"Saguru I-wish-you-had-a-middle-name-so-that-I-could-scold-you-by-it Hakuba," she harped in English.

"Yes?" the teen in question responded, not even bothering to look up from his case file—one of hundreds left scattered about the room, mixed in with dirty laundry and half-eaten junk.

"You'll never guess who stopped by to visit just a few minutes ago," she growled, tossing the new Get Well Soon card onto the growing pile with a flick of her wrist.

"Was it Kaito?" the blonde sighed.

"Who else?" the elderly woman harrumphed heavily in frustration. "That poor boy is worried sick about you. He comes nearly every day asking about you and begging to be let in to visit. It's cold out there, Saguru, and our house isn't exactly on his way home from school, you know. And you don't even have the decency to read the cards he brings you."

"He's not exactly the victim here, Baaya," Saguru muttered, making some notes in the margins.

"No, but he's not the villain, either, Saguru," the sage countered. "Listen here, young man. Look at me when I'm talking to you."

With a sigh, the boy set down his pen and looked up at the woman who had raised him.

"Now, I know that he broke your heart, and I understand your pain, since I've known my own share of heartbreak, but let me tell you something. That boy cares _deeply_ for you. Normal people don't bring soup and cards and flowers and little puzzles and games for their sick friends. They may visit once or twice out of obligation, but Kuroba-kun goes out of his way two out of every three days to come and see you. It may not be the kind you want, Saguru, but that boy _loves_ you.

"So what do you say you stop moping around the house feeling sorry for yourself and go spend time with your friend? You're only hurting the both of you acting like this."

The teenage detective looked down at the floor in shame.

After Baaya left, he sighed and got up from his desk to retrieve the seven or eight cards that had been busy forming into a small hill while he ignored them.

There were various types—all colors and designs featuring cartoons, pictures, and animals, among others. The sweet, child-like ones were signed K1; the comical ones came from K2, and the sincere, more serious cards bore the signature of KK.

Hakuba sighed and retrieved his phone from under the bed. When he turned it on, he was surprised to find an average of three calls and from three to seven texts per day from the Kaitos. The first expressed slight concern over Saguru's absence, and the urgency and panic escalated from there with every few messages.

He felt rotten as he listened to his beloved's frantic voicemails and anxious texts.

Baaya was right.

He was being a jerk.

The blonde sighed again as he glanced at the sad state of his room. He stood and began to clean as he called down to his caretaker. "Baaya! Go ahead and let him in tomorrow!"

000

Meanwhile, across town in Beika, Kudo Shinichi's date was not going well.

It was obvious that his intended had other things on his mind besides the devilishly handsome detective across the table

Kaito kept sighing and playing with his food. He didn't seem to have much of an appetite, and conversation was limited to one-word responses to the older teen's prompts.

Shinichi got a sentence out of Kaito, if he was truly lucky.

The once-again-normal-sized teen sighed. "So…how are things going with those girls that you're making out with to get over Aoko-san?"

The formerly spacing out magician gave a start and looked up at his date with a nervous chuckle. "Uh…not so great, actually."

"Oh? Why not?" the super sleuth prodded, desperately trying to keep the conversation going.

"Well, it's kind of different than I thought it would be." Kaito scratched the back of his neck, looking down at his soup in embarrassment.

"How so?"

"I always thought that I'd be okay with fooling around as long as both people involved were clear on the terms of the relationship, but while I still think that that's fine for other people, I kind of found out that that's not what I want for myself. I really can't just make out with girls I have no feelings for." The smaller brunette snickered softly at himself. "Saguru was right."

Shinichi nodded to show he was listening, and, surprisingly, Kaito continued of his own accord.

"I never thought I was…I guess…sentimental about it, but…I always thought that my first time would be with Aoko. Now that that's not happening…don't laugh, but…I kind of want to save myself for you," he whispered, blushing and shifting uncomfortably. He peeked up at the detective through his eyelashes.

Shinichi could have died happy at that moment. "When you say things like that, it makes me want to push you down and take you on the table."

"Wow. In front of such a big audience?" the instigator chuckled, squirming in his seat.

"I don't think I'd even care at this point." Shinichi looked at his love with hunger in his eyes.

"Down, Boy. We're not even dating yet," Kaito laughed, feeling his stomach tighten. "But…from here on out, you _can_ consider these little get-togethers official dates."

"I'm glad," the Detective of the East replied, grinning like an idiot. He took his beloved's hand in his own and gave it a squeeze. "But if these are dates, doesn't that mean that we _are_ dating?"

The violet-eyed boy snorted. "You know what I meant. I meant that we're not boyfriend/girlfriend or anything…yet."

"I like that 'yet,'" the taller teen purred, massaging the palm of Kaito's hand with his thumb.

"I bet you do, you perv. Stop looking at me like you want to eat me alive." The imp smirked, winking flirtatiously.

"Kaito, you may feel safe teasing me while we're out in public," Shinichi whispered as his pupils dilated. "but may I remind you that you'll soon be all alone in the dark with me as I escort you home?"

"Oooh, scary." The flirt grinned. "What are you going to do to me?" he asked breathily, letting his foot trail up the inside of his admirer's leg under the table. "In minute detail, please."

"Kaito," Shinichi whimpered, sounding as if he were in pain. He looked to his love with pleading eyes. "Don't be a tease. Don't get me riled up like this unless you're serious, please. It's not fair."

"Sorry," the magician mumbled, casting his eyes down as he removed his foot. "Flirting is fun, and I really like the way you look at me when you want me." He sighed. "I'm sorry. It's wrong to play around with your feelings like that."

"'S okay. You're going to be a hurricane in bed when we finally get there. I'm willing to hold out until then…. Just make sure that you're certain when you tease me like that; I may not be able to stop myself one of these days." Shinichi gave Kaito's hand one last reassuring squeeze before letting go.

"Un," the magician grunted, going back to messing over his meal.

The great detective sighed. "Kaito, is something wrong? With the exception of the past four minutes, you've been down in the dumps all night. Is this about us or Aoko-san or Kid-related or…is this about Hakuba?"

"The last one," the smaller brunette reluctantly admitted.

"He's been sick lately, right? Is he not doing any better?" As much as he didn't want to talk about his rival, if it was bothering Kaito enough to interrupt their date…

"I think he's probably getting better," the other teen sighed. "but he's having his caretaker make it out to be worse than it is so that he can avoid me."

That made no sense. If Shinichi were ill, he'd be milking it for all that it was worth, letting Kaito play nurse. Come to think of it, the thief probably even had a costume. Hmmm.

"Why would he want to avoid you? You two are really close now, right?"

"He's mad at me," Kaito sighed, ladling soup into his spoon only to dump it back into the bowl once more. "Last time I saw him, we were talking about this gu—person that he likes and how they were going out with someone else now. Saguru was down because he felt like he didn't stand a chance anymore, so I told him that he should just give up and move on, since nothing's going to happen anyway. Maybe I didn't phrase it right, or maybe he took it the wrong way, but he hasn't been answering my calls or texts or anything since then. Baaya says that he's just too sick to respond, but…"

Shinichi blinked. "You told him to just give up?"

He could understand the European sleuth's pain. If Kaito had flat out told _him_ to abandon all hope, he would have barricaded himself in his room as well.

"Yeah?" The magician winced at the scolding tone to his not-quite-boyfriend's voice. "I mean, I figured it was nothing serious anyway. It's just a crush; he'll get over it in no time."

"How can you be so sure of that?" the blue-eyed brunette inquired.

"Because I know the guy," Kaito insisted. "I'm his best friend. He only mentions his crush from time to time, and it's not like he ever does anything with them. They never hang out, and I'm not even sure that they've spoken before. How can he really be in love with someone he's hardly had any interaction with? It's probably just someone that looks cool from afar—that type of deal."

Shinichi could only shake his head, lamenting having fallen in love with a total moron. "You didn't tell him that, did you?"

"Sort of?" The little idiot bit his lip. "Was that bad? Do you think he's mad at me?"

"Yes, Kaito, that was _very_ bad. You should never belittle someone's feelings like that. You probably hurt him a lot." The brunette detective suddenly found himself feeling extremely sorry for his blonde adversary.

"Oh," the oblivious clown gulped, trying to force down the lump in his throat. "W-what should I do? Do you think he doesn't want to be my friend anymore?"

"Calm down," Shinichi ordered, grasping his beloved's hand once more. "Just…say sorry. Walk on eggshells around him for a while, and be very careful what you say. Be sensitive and compassionate. You can do that, right?"

"Right," the magician replied with a smile of certainty. He squeezed the detective's hand back. "Thank you, Shin-chan. You always know just what to say."

The rest of the date went extremely well in both Shinichi and Kaito's opinions.

The magician-thief had allowed his detective to hold his hand on the way home and had even stolen a quick kiss on the porch.

"You didn't send a heist note for that," Shinichi joked, secretly (or maybe not so secretly) pleased that _Kaito_ had been the one to initiate the kiss.

"My apologies, my dearest detective," Kid chuckled, enjoying the intimacy _very_ much. "Please allow me to return what I have stolen." And then he kissed the star-struck teen again—this time with more tongue.

After they broke away, Shinichi managed to mumble, "Ya know, that's not really giving it back so much as stealing another."

"Oh?" Kid grinned like a certain fictitious feline. "Then, by all means, please retrieve your property, Meitantei."

Kaito nearly swooned at the feeling of their tongues twisting together, of teeth and lips.

Kid eagerly stuck his tongue down Shinichi's throat, and Chikage thought that she would have to come out and toss a bucket of cold water on the two teens until the alarm on Conan's watch began to sound.

The Heisei Holmes reluctantly separated himself from his darling. "I have to go. Only thirty minutes left as Shinichi."

"Stay. Please," Kaito begged, pulling his almost-boyfriend close to nuzzle his throat. "If you go now, it'll be another week or two before we can do anything like this again. I'm not very good at delaying gratification," he whispered seductively.

"I can't," Shinichi sighed, oh so tempted to give in. "I have to leave now to make it back in time."

"You could always just stay here," the imp began threading his fingers through the taller teen's hair. "Mom wouldn't have a problem with little Shin-chan sharing my bed for the night, and we could always just roll around in it for a bit until you change back. Sound good?"

"I don't want you to see me change back," the detective stated firmly, pulling away from those clever hands.

"Why not?" Kaito whined, reaching out to tug Shinichi closer. "I mean, you just shrink, right? Oh, I bet your clothes fall off. Are you embarrassed for me to see little Shin-chan naked or something?" The sly fox grinned, slowly letting his eyes roam up and down the other brunette's body.

"Yeah." Shinichi put on his best fake smile. "That's it."

If he told Kaito about the blinding pain he went through every time he transformed for the sake of four hours in his original body with Kaito, chances were that the magician would feel horribly guilty and demand that the detective stop.

"I love you, Kaito." He gently pressed his lips to his beloved's cheek. "See you in a few weeks."

"A _few_ weeks?" the little spitfire questioned.

"Haibara says that I've been pushing it lately. I mean, I did change back twice just last week, and now tonight too… It may be a month or so before we can do this again. Even though the temporary antidote poses less of a threat, I don't want to risk complete immunity."

"_M-month_?" Kaito's eyes went wide like teacups. "Wa-wa-wait. You mean I don't get any for a _month_?"

"Afraid no—" Shinichi didn't even get the 't' out before he found a tongue down his throat.

"Stay," Kaito panted between aggressive, sloppy kisses. "Stay."

"Can't," Shinichi got out as he nearly choked on that wonderful tongue.

"Please." Kaito's hands began to snake under Shinichi's clothes like amorous vines, touching every bit of flesh they could reach—accidentally hitting ticklish spots along with sensitive places that they had no right being at this point in the relationship.

"Kai—" Shinichi took his love's face in his hands and forced their lips apart. "—to. Stop," he demanded, glaring at the handsy thief. "Do you love me? Is that why you're trying to get me into bed with you?"

"N-no," the shorter boy mumbled, reluctantly retracting his hands. "I'm trying to get you in bed with me because I'm a hormonal teenage male."

"Didn't you say that you didn't want to give me your body if you couldn't give me your heart too?" the detective lectured, wishing that things could be simple.

"Yeah, but I wasn't horny when I said all that," Kaito pouted under his breath. "Sorry."

"Don't be," the great sleuth sighed. "I'm glad that I can get you all fired up like that. It means that we're making progress, but…maybe it's a good thing that I'll be stuck as Conan for a little while. It'll give us a chance to work on the romance part of our relationship instead of just the lust side of it."

"Un," the magician grunted, seeing his suitor's point, but still not liking it.

"I love you, Kaito," Shinichi whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his intended's cheek.

"What do you want me to say? It's not like I can say it back," the messy-haired brunette sighed. "'I love your body, Shin-chan?'"

"How about, 'I'll love you someday'?"

"I'll love you someday, Shin-chan," Kaito tried it on for size and gave a little half-smile. "Someday." He gave Shinichi's left cheek a little peck.

"Go take a cold shower, Casanova," the detective chuckled.

"Way ahead of you," the younger teen laughed in response.

….

(^.^)b

Mikau: Okay, so maybe you've already seen this somewhere before, since it's not mine, but it's a thumbs up sign! Someone put this in a review or private message to me, and I just looked at it a little like this: (OoO) thinking "It's a thumbs up sign!" So, thank you to whomever that was. Ahem. Anyway, wanna here a secret? It's about how I came up with the title Come to Taunt Me. I was sitting in the school library in Japan, procrastinating on my Tea and Sake paper (who wants to write about the chemical formulas and brewing process of tea and sake in Japanese? I didn't!) by writing out little snippets from this fic. I absentmindedly hit the save button, thinking that I had already titled and saved the document before. I hadn't, so it prompted me to title the thing. When it does that, it always has the first line of the document as the temporary title, and the first line of CTM just happened to be "Come to taunt me, have you?" And I thought that that was quite an appropriate name for the piece. And that's how CTM was christened. I spend a lot more time thinking up the titles of my other stories, but that one just happened like that. Thanks for reading, guys. Your support and encouragement is greatly appreciated. Have a great day!


	36. Reconciliation

Mikau: Hey everyone! Good to see you again. Thanks to you guys, CTM has breached 150 reviews. Thanks so much to everyone who's contributed. Thanks as well to athieisademon, Cyanide Flowers, Nechangi, Syrus07, Aniki-xvi, and DoodlingPlume for reviewing. Also, good news: I figured out how I want to continue from the point that I was stuck at—Sherlock Holmes and karaoke. I'm actually concentrating more on Love at Long Distance omakes right now, but I'll get back to focusing on CTM soon. Also, I've written something new. It's more HakuKai, and it's called Collisions of Considerable Impact. I should have it up later tonight/tomorrow morning. Give it a look-see if you like HakuKai (which it sounds like it's a good number of you by now). Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I don't think the homosexual undertones would be as subtle. Have you ever really read the conversations between Kid and Nakamori-keibu? They're totally flirting. When Kaito says things like "I never run or hide from you, Nakamori-keibu. Let's meet again," and leaves him a flower which the good inspector joyously accepts, or when the inspector says "I caught you~! 3" while hugging Kid, it makes me wonder. I find myself thinking, "Just what kind of relationship did Toichi and Ginzo have, anyway? Does Kaito have a thing for older men?" There's also Aoko's blushing whenever Akako's around…and the worrying about Kaito doing perverted things to Akako thing. Anyway, I find it amusing, and I wonder if it's intentional. If I were writing it, the homosexual relationships would be more prominent because, frankly, I feel that there's a lot more canonical support for the same-sex relationships than the hetero ones. But that's just me. However, you're reading my shounen ai fic, so you probably agree. Either way, it's up to you to decide. Enjoy the chapter.

…

Reconciliation

"Hey," Saguru greeted shyly from where he sat in bed.

"Hey yourself," Kaito responded, hesitantly lingering in the doorway. "You know, part of me was kind of thinking that you were faking sick because you were mad and avoiding me, but I see now that that's not the case, and I feel like a conceited prick."

"I might have been a little angry and avoiding you, but I _was_ very ill," the blonde assured, motioning his friend inside. "But I'm not mad anymore, and I'm feeling a little better."

"That's good." The shorter teen gave a little half-smile and tentatively sat on the edge of the bed at the foot. "What did you have? You look like death took a fork to you."

"Perfectly common ailment, really. Most people get it at one time or another—a bit like the chicken pox. The doctors couldn't do anything for me, so all I could do was sleep. Only, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat, had no energy, and was in terrible pain all the time. I really thought I was going to die. I wanted to die at times. There was this horrendous sucking ache in my chest that felt a little bit like a black hole opening up, to be honest. Worst experience of my life aside from some of the more gruesome murders I've seen."

"God. No wonder you couldn't see me!" Kaito exclaimed. "Are you sure you're okay? Shouldn't you be in the hospital or something?"

Hakuba could only chuckle softly. "I'm maybe running at forty to fifty percent right now, but I'll get better with time. You shouldn't worry about me."

"Are you sure?" Kaito eyed him suspiciously with those liquid amethyst eyes. "Is there anything that I can do to help?"

"Stop worrying," the Brit demanded. "And read this out loud." He handed over his phone to his guest.

The magician looked at it a minute before blinking. "It's the text I sent you last night?"

"Yes. I'd like to hear your apology out loud. I can imagine how you would say it in my head, but I want to hear it coming from your lips," the wronged man explained.

"Oh." Kaito nodded with a blush. "I see. Okay." He cleared his throat before beginning. _"Dear Saguru, I was thinking about what I said to you the other day, and I realized that I made a huge mistake. I never should have dismissed your feelings like that. It was wrong of me, and I hope you'll be able to forgive me. _

"_I realized that whatever you say you feel is what you feel, and it's not my place to tell you your emotions. If you say that you're in love, you're in love. I'm really sorry that I didn't respect your feelings. It was insensitive of me, and I'll work hard on it in the future, if you'll still have me. _

"_I also want to apologize for telling you to give up on the person you love just because the situation looks hopeless now. If you really love this guy, you should fight for him until the bitter end. You should know, however, that I wasn't just being callous when I told you to forget about him. As your friend, I don't like seeing you in pain, and this guy only seems to bring you heartache. I want you to be happy because you're a great guy, and you really deserve someone who can love you every bit as much as you love them._

"_If you want to continue to fight for this guy, I'll support your decision. I'm behind you 100%, so if you ever need me, I'll be there for you. Again, sorry for being a jerk. Get well soon; I miss you. Kaito,"_ the brunette concluded, shifting nervously under the stare of those piercing tawny eyes.

"Thank you," Saguru whispered, a content smile on his face. "And apology accepted."

"I'm glad." Kaito grinned, lying down on his stomach and stretching out. "I was really afraid that I'd screwed things up permanently this time."

"Never," the blonde assured. "As long as we are still alive, there will be time to forgive one another, and I'd forgive you anything short of murder, Kai."

"Oh, Guru," Kaito chuckled, ruffling his companion's hair before going back to fretting. "So, you're sure you're doing better?"

"Bloody hell, Kaito. YES. I'm feeling MUCH better. I could run a marathon for Pete's sake, so stop worrying," the Brit sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Can't help it." The magician shrugged. After a beat he asked again, "You're sure you're sure?"

Hakuba sighed once more and put his hands around Kaito's throat. "I swear. I'm going to ring that pretty little neck of yours."

"You think it's pretty?" the imp teased.

This caused the blonde to color and look away, removing his hands like he'd received an electric shock. "Yes, Kaito, I find your neck very visually stimulating."

"Thought so." The brunette did his best to keep from bursting into giggles. "Oh no. What am I ever going to tell Shin-chan? I suppose we could just elope. What do you think? Will you elope with me, Guru?"

"I'd personally prefer a proper wedding," Hakuba replied honestly, even though he knew his friend was kidding. "I'd rather legally handcuff myself to you in front of our families and friends than just run away together."

"But then there's still the problem of Shin-chan," Kaito hummed, laughing softly.

"How are things going with Shin-chan? Any new developments in the past two weeks?" It was always painful to discuss, but Saguru needed to know if his enemy had gained any ground in his absence.

His beloved chuckled nervously. "A little bit. Ever since he kissed me, I've been craving more. The hormones are driving me nuts! Seriously, anybody would do at this point. I just want to touch and feel and experience it all, but…it's wrong of me to want to kiss him just because I get a rush out of it. I got a little riled up and nearly sucked his face off last night."

"D-did you, now?" Saguru gulped.

"Yeah," Kaito sighed. "I just keep throwing myself at him. It's not right. I know it's not right, but…it's hard to argue with my little brain sometimes. In my head I know that I should put his feelings first and be fair and do the right thing, but it's really difficult when all I want to do is get laid. Maybe I should just sleep with him now and worry about really falling for him later, but I don't want to chance things not working out and him getting hurt. I don't know what the hell I'm doing, Guru. What do you think?"

Hakuba took a deep breath and then turned to face those lovely indigo eyes. "Kaito, do whatever will make you happiest in the long run."

Kaito blinked. "What…makes me happy?"

"Yes."

The shorter teen frowned. "So…I should sleep with him and worry about falling in love later?"

"Will you regret doing things that way?" the detective inquired.

"Yes," Kaito sighed. "Probably."

"There's your answer. Don't sleep with him. You're probably not ready for a relationship with him yet."

"I see." Kaito's head landed with a soft thud on Hakuba's comforter. "God what a mess."

"Your life seems to be full of them," Saguru gently chuckled, patting his love on the head. "You may want to consider a vacation. Some time away from Kudo may do you some good."

"Regardless of whether I want it or not, time away from Shin-chan is what I'm going to get. I don't get to see him for an entire flying-fudge-brownie month." The magician inserted a fake sob at the end of his whine.

"What? Why? Is he going out of town with the Mouris or something?" Hakuba couldn't fathom why the young detective would go off and leave Kaito alone when he'd been doing so well with the magician up to that point.

Aforementioned magician blinked and cocked his head to the side. "I meant big Shin-chan. Little Shin-chan will be around."

Now it was the blonde's turn to blink. "But if the little one is around, why did you say you couldn't see him?"

"I said I can't see big Shin-chan," Kaito reiterated, three deep trenches forming in his brow.

"I know. I understand. You can't see Kudo, but Edogawa will be around, so you can still see him, correct?" Hakuba asked slowly.

"Yes, but I don't want to see _Conan_. I want to see _Shinichi_," the smaller boy seethed.

"But if he's not going anywhere, why can't you see Kudo?" This conversation was getting tiresome.

"Because he's not going to be around." Kaito obviously felt the same way.

"But you said he wasn't going anywhere," Hakuba challenged.

"_Conan's_ not," Kaito bit back.

"Bloody hell, Kaito," Saguru fumed, losing his patience for inanities. "I don't know how the devil it works, but I've got enough brains to figure out that they're the same sodding person. Now, if you could please tell me if Edogawa, who is Kudo, is not going anywhere, why the blue blazes can't you see your bloody boyfriend?"

"Oh." The violet-eyed teen was pensive for a moment before saying anything more. "First of all, he's not my boyfriend. We _are_ going on official dates now, but we're not _dating_ yet. Second of all, his mad scientist lady says that he's been using too many of the pills he takes to change back lately. If he doesn't cut back, he risks becoming totally immune to the medicine's effects…. So I don't get to see big Shin-chan for a month."

Saguru nodded, processing the information he had just been fed. "I see. That explains some things while raising a great deal more questions. How did he get like that in the first place?"

Kaito shrugged. "He's never told me, and I've never asked. We kind of have that type of arrangement; he doesn't pry into Kid's business either. As long as he's safe, all I care about is him being able to transform back into Studly Shin-chan for make-out sessions. Honestly, if he ever does become immune to the pills, my 'to sleep with him or not to sleep with him' dilemma goes right out the window for another six years. While Conan's little bespectacled face is downright adorable, sexy it is not. Seriously. It does _nothing_ for me. _You_ turn me on more than that."

"Thank you?" Saguru raised an eyebrow at his guest.

"'S a compliment," Kaito assured with a chimp-like chuckle. "Seriously. You're a good-looking guy. In fact, I'm having trouble not pouncing you right this instant."

"Oh, Kai, I feel the same way about you," the Brit returned.

"No, Guru. We mustn't," the joker gasped, sounding like a woman from the Victorian Period. "Baaya is just downstairs."

"She'd probably gladly step out for an hour or so, if we asked her to," Saguru replied thoughtfully. "She's been trying to set me up again recently."

"Seriously?" Kaito too broke character.

"Seriously." The eligible bachelor nodded with a sigh. "I do have a responsibility to my family to produce heirs, after all. If I fail to provide evidence of a significant other soon, there will be marriage interviews again."

"Yeesh." The magician shuddered. "So…what are you going to do? Are you going to fight to be with that guy you like, or are you going to try to move on? Do you know yet?"

"Kaito, I'm going to fight to the bitter end," the detective declared, staring his intended straight in the eye. "That's what you said I should do, right? If I really love him?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I _really,_ really love him." Saguru was pleased to find that he could say it without stuttering.

"Then, I'll support you 100%." Kaito pledged. "Just let me know, if there's ever anything that I can do."

"I'll let you know, if I ever think of anything." The blonde couldn't help but chuckle.

…

(O O)

) T (

-.-.-

Mikau: It's supposed to be a skull, but ff dot net's formatting does funny things to multi-line emots. Anyway, my new fic, Collisions of Considerable Impact is about Hakuba getting hit by a car at a heist and losing his memories. He mistakes his obsession with exposing Kaito as Kid as a crush on Kaito, and things get cute/sad/dramatic from there. Take a look if you have time/interest. So, someone told me today, "Kara, you should smile more often." I guess I don't smile in public often. Hmm. I thought I smiled all the time. Guess not. Well, I hope you liked the chapter. Please send in your thoughts if you have the time. Thanks for reading!


	37. The Physical Distance of Ten Years

Mikau: Hey guys! How are you? I'm tired. Just two-ish more weeks until I graduate. Scary. I interviewed for a summer position the other day, so maybe I'll get to come back to campus as a kind of language camp counselor in July/August. Fingers crossed. Anyway, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: athieisademon, Cyanide Flowers, Aniki-xvi, AyameRose, Athina Dark-Angel of Death, and Canadian. Your feedback is really the only thing keeping me going on this at this point. I'm sorry. I feel so unmotivated lately. My brain is elsewhere, and I'm finding it hard to write CTM, however, I did an outline of everything else I want to put in up until the end, so I've got a clear direction. Well, I've always had a clear direction, but now it's even clearer. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would have tried to make volume four of Magic Kaito more like the first three and less like Detective Conan. I realize that a lot of the chapters were Conan extras and bonuses, but, to me, the stories in volume four just don't have the same kind of light-hearted charm the ones from the first three volumes did. The art also starts tending towards Conan in volume four. Aoko starts looking more and more like Ran, and Kaito turns into Shinichi at several points. It just makes me sad, you know? I still love it, but…I loved it how it used to be.

….

The Physical Distance of Ten Years

"…and today he brought brownies!" Kaito had been going on and on about Hakuba f-ing Saguru for the past twenty minutes.

Apparently the other detective had taken up the culinary arts, and he'd been bringing in samples of his work to _Conan's_ thief for the past week.

The pint-sized gumshoe smelled a scheme.

"I could have eaten the whole thing myself, but Aoko..."

Conan nodded and pretended to be paying attention.

Truth be told, the poor detective was fed up with his situation.

Why now? Why after all they had overcome together—getting Kaito used to Shinichi instead of Conan, gathering up the courage to confess, kissing, and Kaito finally getting over his misgivings about being in a relationship with another male? Why now that his beloved was behaving like a dog in heat did Shinichi have to be stuck in that useless, eight year-old body? Why now when he was at his most vulnerable did f-ing Hakuba have to swoop in and attempt to sweep Kaito off of his feet? And why, oh why, was it working?

"…and then Saguru gave me—"

Conan quickly covered Kaito's lips with his own but drew back just as fast.

The purple-eyed teen blinked, fingertips hovering just centimeters from his lips as he gulped. "Wh-why did you do that, Tantei-kun?"

"Because I love you," the chibi confessed. "And I don't want to listen to you talking about other men when you're with me. I'm jealous, Kai-chan."

"Don't be." Kaito lay down on his bed, scooping up his miniature detective and setting the boy down on his chest. "Saguru's just a friend."

"You talk about him like he's more than that." Conan took the opportunity to snuggle, taking in the scent of Kaito's body wash.

"I…didn't notice. I didn't mean to," the magician defended himself, lightly nuzzling his not-boyfriend's hair. "He's not."

"I don't want to talk about him," the not-child whined. "I want to make love to you, Kai-chan."

"Oh, pizza," Kaito cursed as his pants grew tight. "Shinichi, don't say things like that; you're making me feel like a pedo."

"It's worth it to see that face you're making," the little detective chuckled. "You know, even while I'm like this, I can still make your little problem go away, if you'd like."

"No," the younger teen stated firmly, sitting up and setting his seductor down. "We're not doing anything like _that_ while you're _eight_."

"It makes no difference, Kaito. I'm still me," Conan argued with a sigh.

"It makes a difference to _me_," the magician debated his point, standing and starting to pace manically. "Tantei-kun, you have no idea how _dirty_ it makes me feel, wanting you like this. It's _sick_. I can't do it. I _won't_, Shinichi."

"But—"

"—No!" Kaito screamed. "No buts! You promised me, Shinichi, that you would never try anything while you were Conan. You _promised_. You said that I got to decide what happened between us, and I say _NO_."

"Okay," the lovesick teen mumbled. "You're right, Kai-chan. I'm sorry…. It's just…I miss you. Even though you're right here, I can't hold you or kiss you the way that I want, so…I miss you. Sorry."

"No," the younger boy sighed, collapsing onto the bed and wrapping his arms around his detective. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. Here you are frustrated because you're madly in love with me and can't be with me the way you want to, while I'm going nuts because my brain's stuck between my legs and I want to screw like monkeys but can't. I'm a stupid jerk."

"I don't think you're a stupid jerk, Kaito," Conan chuckled, nipping the underside of his love's jaw. "And don't worry. We'll make love like wild animals some day after you fall in love with me."

"How long until you can change back again?" the disheveled brunette groaned.

"About a month," the detective sighed.

"It was a month last time I asked too," Kaito gave an identical sigh.

"Haibara pushed back the date just to be safe. It'll be mid-December now," Conan informed his intended.

Kaito wailed in despair. "Why me?"

"Kaito, maybe we should just have coffee dates like we used to from now on," the shrunken teen suggested. "If we stay away from beds and couches, it might be easier for you and your libido."

"Yeah. Okay," the magician reluctantly agreed. "God help me."

Conan chuckled softly, leaning forward to kiss the thief on the tip of his nose. "I love you, Kaito," he whispered through the bowtie in Shinichi's voice.

"I'll love you someday, Shin-chan, but right now I want you bad." Kaito closed his eyes and pressed his lips greedily to Conan's.

The startled grade schooler eagerly responded.

When they pulled back and Kaito opened his eyes, he grimaced. "Oh my god, that's awkward!"

"Poor baby," the former Kudo Shinichi laughed outright at his love. "Don't worry. One more month and I'll kiss you silly to make up for it."

"If I don't die of celibacy before then," the poor, disgruntled teen pouted.

"You're a virgin. You've survived this long without physical intimacy; you can go another month."

"Says you," the magician grumbled.

"I do. Anyway, let's meet for coffee tomorrow at our place," Conan suggested. "We haven't gone in forever."

"Because I've been fooling around with Shinichi for the past two and a half months," the taller teen snorted.

"I really do think that we need to just sit around and talk like we used to, Kai-chan," the little tantei replied honestly, placing a kiss on his love's cheek. "There's more to relationships than just making out. I don't think we'll make it, if all we ever do is stick our tongues down each other's throats, and I won't be able to be your friend anymore, if it doesn't work out. It'd be too painful to be with you but be unable to _be_ with you. We have to make this work."

That struck a chord within the magician. He'd never considered that before (at least, not at any length)—by starting a relationship with the detective, he might have doomed their friendship, should the romantic side of things fail.

He pulled the smaller boy to his chest and swore, "We _will_ make this work, Shin-chan. I'll get my act together, and we'll figure this out."

"See you tomorrow after school, then?" the little detective asked cheerily as his thief escorted him to the door.

"See you tomorrow," Kaito echoed, smiling as his almost-boyfriend went.

….

(^.^)b-b- "Mikau approved."

Mikau: They're finger guns. I wanted to remind you guys that the poll on my profile page is still up, if you're interested in having any input in what I do next. I'll probably close the poll sometime next week. Maybe on June first or so? That sounds appropriate. So, this was kind of a more somber chapter. I kind of wanted to highlight the challenges Kaito and Conan face as a couple with the age difference because I don't think the issues are addressed enough in fanfiction. Kaito has his hang ups about feeling like a pedo, and Conan is frustrated, and Hakuba's swooping in and taking advantage. He doesn't really mean to "take advantage" of Shinichi being stuck as Conan, but the timing just kind of worked out that way. I think Hakuba's supporters are going to like the next couple of chapters while the KaiShin fans curse my name. However, after that, the KaiShin fans will be squealing like crazy while the HakuKai fans scream, "No! Kaito you idiot!" and then, finally, EVERYONE will be happy except those that are opposed to the weird love triangle threesome idea. So, that's just an outline of what's coming next, if you were interested. Thanks for stopping in to read. Have a nice day!


	38. Making a Comeback

Mikau: Hey everyone! Happy Memorial Day to all whom that applies. Sorry for the delay. I really meant to have this up Saturday, but I went home for the weekend and had internet problems. Anyway, it's here now, and I hope it's worth the wait. I had a ton of fun writing this, so please enjoy! And before I forget, thanks a bunch to ChibiBoko, athieisademon, Cyanide Flowers, icarusdg, and Canadian who reviewed! I always appreciate the feedback, guys.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Conan would still be wearing the little suit jacket and bowtie. Even though I love his new wardrobe, it must be a pain to think up all of those outfits. Kudos to whomever does that; it must be a lot of work.

….

Making a Comeback

It was the very middle of the third week in November when Kuroba Kaito realized he had a teensy-weensy, itty-bitty, crater-on-the-moon-sized problem.

So big was his problem that he feared it might cost him his almost-relationship with Shinichi. And yet, the cause of his problem was so small that you could hold it in the palm of your hand (if you ever desired to do such a gruesome thing).

The source of Kuroba Kaito's problem was a pair of amber eyes.

He'd noticed them before, sure. They _were_ unusual, after all. No one else in Japan had eyes quite like that, he was certain. However, recently, he had taken to staring at them surreptitiously, and recently he had discovered them to be the most beautiful things he had ever laid eyes on.

It all started the day that Saguru returned to school. He came baring gifts in the form of home-made fudge.

"I just wanted to let you know that I am not contagious, so the fudge is perfectly safe to eat," the golden-eyed boy announced, setting the plate down on Kaito's desk.

"Why do I get fudge?" The brunette cocked his head to the side, eyes going wide as he stared at the delectable-looking treat before him.

"It's a thank you gift for coming to see me while I was ill. I'm sorry that you never got past the front door, but I'm grateful that you came anyway." Saguru smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Also, I'm learning to cook, and I wondered if you might do me the favor of functioning as my taste-tester?"

"Hold that thought," Kaito replied as he picked out a choice piece of fudge and popped it into his mouth. "You bet I'll be your taste-tester! What are you making me tomorrow?"

"What do you want?" Hakuba chuckled. "Something simple, mind you. I'm a beginner."

"How about…chocolate chip cookies?" If Kaito had had a tail, it would be wagging as he inquired hopefully.

"I'm pretty sure Baaya's family has some secret recipe that she could teach me. Chocolate chip it is," the amateur baker announced.

"Why are you learning to cook, Hakuba-kun?" Aoko inquired, edging herself into the conversation.

"I heard that the person I like prefers men who can cook, so I thought that I'd give it a shot," the blonde replied with a blush.

The inspector's daughter nodded approvingly as she stole a piece of fudge from Kaito's plate.

"That was mine!" the magician whined.

"It's really good!" she squealed, stealing another piece.

"That's why I'm saving it for myself!" Kaito growled, pulling the plate closer so that he could better protect his treasure.

"You're going to get fat and die if you eat all of that yourself," Aoko warned, a facetious smirk on her face.

"Then I'll die happy!" the taller of the brunettes retorted.

The next day was cookies as promised, and scones followed. Next was assorted muffins and then brownies.

The following Wednesday, Kaito received a bentou lunch complete with small onigiri in the form of Detective Hakuba, the Kaitou Kid, and Edogawa Conan.

"This is cuter than anything my mom ever made me," Kaito chuckled, admiring his lunch. "I haven't had anything like this since my Dad used to make my lunches. This is almost as good as his."

Which was the highest compliment that one could ever hope to receive from Kuroba Kaito. No one could match Kuroba Toichi, the god of Kaito's religion, but being _almost_ as good was high praise.

Saguru smiled and blushed. "Hey, Kaito? I have a favor to ask of you. It's a little weird, but hear me out, okay?"

"What is it?" the brunette inquired, trying to pick out whom to eat first.

"W-Will you go on a d-date with me?" the detective stuttered.

Kaito nearly choked on the Kid rice ball. "Eh?"

"I mean, not a real date," Saguru clarified. "A practice date."

"Oh," the brunette sighed in relief, reaching for his tea. "A practice date…. What's a practice date?"

"You know." The boy in love shifted nervously. "I mean…I've never been on a date before, so I was just wondering if you would pretend to go on a date with me and let me know if I'm behaving funny or not doing something I should or doing something I shouldn't. Let me know whether it's fun or not. That kind of thing."

"Oh, sure. No problem," Kaito chuckled, waving away his friend's reservations. "I'll give you some pointers, but you're paying."

"A gentleman always pays," the Englishman replied indignantly, as if he had been insulted.

"You've seriously never been on a date before?" the magician inquired curiously. "Sorry for being nosey, but you're a handsome guy. I would have thought that someone would have taken a shot at you by now."

Saguru blushed, smiling bashfully. "Why thank you, but, you're the only one to ever make a pass at me. Well, maybe Koizumi-san, but—"

"—Yeah, let's not go there." Kaito gave an involuntary shudder. "Maybe you've just never noticed," the magician suggested. "I happen to know for a fact that a lot of the girls in our class think that you're hott stuff. You're just not very approachable."

"I'll work on that…maybe. I don't want to be too popular…like you."

"It's nice to have a fan club." The goofball shrugged.

"Is tonight okay for our date?" Hakuba asked, ignoring Kaito's silliness. "Can I pick you up at six?"

"Sounds awesome," Kaito quickly agreed. Since it was around dinner time, there would probably be a nice free meal. Saguru didn't seem like the type to take a girl (or guy, in this case) on a cheap date. "What do I wear?"

"What you usually wear." The detective shrugged, allowing himself to get the slightest bit excited for their evening together. "Smart casual is fine. It's a decent restaurant, but the place I'll take you after is a casual place, so don't dress up too much."

"Rodger!" Kaito chuckled, picking up the Hakuba onigiri. He paused and frowned, eventually deciding to put down the Hakuba and pick up the Conan. He frowned again and set the Conan onigiri down as well.

"Problem?" Saguru raised an eyebrow at his beloved.

"I find myself at an impasse," the brunette confessed, brow knitted. "I can't eat you. I want to, but I can't. Neither can I eat Tantei-kun in front of you. It'd be lewd and make me feel like a pedophile."

"I beg your pardon?" He couldn't have heard that right.

"Seriously! It's like foreplay! It's voyeuristic! I might as well do a strip tease, if I eat these in front of you."

Saguru blinked. "Kaito, that's ridiculous. There's nothing sexual about food."

"There are entire fetishes built around food," the shorter boy corrected.

"You know, I think I liked you better when you were straight," the detective sighed. "Ever since you decided you were bi, you've been a perverted nympho. Just eat the steaming onigiri already."

"Okay. As long as you don't tell Shin-chan I cheated, but, just so you know, I feel highly uncomfortable doing this." Kaito picked up the Hakuba onigiri and began licking it slowly.

Saguru would never admit it out loud, but he did find it slightly erotic. "I said eat it, not molest it."

"I am eating," the older teen whined.

000

Our hero arrived at the Kuroba household at exactly six on the dot, and he was welcomed (reluctantly) inside by Mrs. Kuroba, who immediately began comparing him to Kudo Shinichi—he could see it in her eyes.

Kaito, thankfully, came down just minutes later, and they were on their way.

Quite frankly, Hakuba Saguru was terrified. More than anything, he wanted things to go well. He desperately wanted Kaito to have more fun than he did with Kudo, but he didn't want Kaito to compare Saguru to Shinichi.

It was nerve-racking.

However, things were going well half-way through dinner.

Saguru had taken the magician to a nice French place called Arsene's and had made sure not to order anything with fish in it. It was a quiet, little place with small tables and dim lighting—perfect for privacy and intimacy.

"I wish I was your future boyfriend," Kaito chuckled. "This place is super nice. Shin-chan never takes me anywhere like this. I'm jealous."

Hakuba one, Kudo zero.

"Oh, you like it here? I'm glad. I wasn't really sure what kind of restaurant to pick." Saguru smiled sheepishly. "All I ever see you eating is Japanese food, but you seem to really have a taste for western desserts. I choose this place for their pastries."

Kaito blinked. "You went to the trouble of picking this place out especially for me?"

"O-Of course." Saguru's cheeks took on a faint pink hue. "I wanted you to enjoy yourself, so I chose a place I thought you'd like."

"T-Thanks," Kaito chuckled, a shy smile beginning to bloom on his lips. "The food's really good. I can't wait for dessert!"

And then the brunette went back to going on and on about nothing of much consequence, but he was excited, so Saguru listened. It didn't really matter that he really didn't get a word in edgewise because Kaito was happy, he was talking _to_ Saguru, and he _wasn't_ talking about Kudo.

After dinner came the arcade—which Kaito _loved_.

"You've never played (fill in the blank)?" his love would shout, looking perfectly scandalized, and then Saguru would find himself being physically pulled across the room to some loud, bright, flashing machine.

They played racing, singing, instrument playing, dancing, and shooting games for a good two hours until they were both exhausted and out of game tokens.

The blonde didn't care for arcades that much, but Kaito had had fun, and that was what mattered. They'd chatted and bantered the entire time, getting to know one another better and enjoying the other's company, and that was what dating was about.

On their way out, they had to cut through the crane game section, and Saguru motioned to the machines. "Anything you want? They're all rigged, but I've gotten pretty good at beating the system."

"Seriously?" The brunette's eyes widened as he perused his options until his gaze fell upon one machine in particular. "There!" He pointed, shouting excitedly. "I want a fuzzy llama!"

"Any color in particular?" Saguru inquired, sizing up the small stuffed llamas. "It looks like blue or pink would be easiest."

"Can you get a white one?" The violet-eyed boy looked expectantly at his date.

"If you want a white one." The detective shrugged, fishing out one hundred yen.

Kaito watched quietly as Saguru set to work. The magician's eyes widened as the claw picked up a white llama, but then he sighed when it slipped out. "Oh well. You tried."

"It takes more than one time to move it into position," the blonde informed his friend, taking out another coin.

"Oh," the magician mumbled, settling in to watch again. He tensed when the claw grabbed the llama again and sighed when his prize escaped a second time.

"Patience," Saguru chuckled.

After the fifth try, Kaito finally had his white llama.

"I could have gotten a blue one in two or a pink one in three. I hope having a white llama is worth the extra two hundred yen."

"It is," Kaito chuckled, hugging his prize to his chest. "Thank you. That was pretty cool, Guru."

"I'm glad you think so. I was trying to show off in front of you, Kai." The taller of the two laughed as well as they started to walk home.

"You know nothing turns me on quite like a guy who's good at crane games," Kaito teased, admiring his llama.

"Oh? Does that mean I could get lucky tonight?" the blonde joked.

"Like I'd sleep with a guy on the first date," the brunette scoffed, playfully bumping into his companion.

"Are you serious? I seem to remember someone telling me that you were a slut. Was that not true?" Saguru nudged Kaito back.

"Meanie," the smaller teen snorted. "Just because I'd get in bed with one detective before we even started dating, doesn't mean that I'd sleep with just any detective."

"I wouldn't want to sleep with you anyway." Saguru shrugged.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaito actually sounded genuinely insulted. "You make it sound like I'm dirty or something. What? Am I not sexy enough? Too hott for you to handle?"

"It has nothing to do with anything you lack…or have in excess, for that matter," Hakuba chuckled, slowly coming to a stop on the Kurobas' front porch. He turned and smiled fondly at his beloved. "If I were ever able to call something as precious as you my own, I'd savor every moment we had together. I'd go slow and really take my time with you, and when we finally did make love, I'd make sure that we were both ready for physical intimacy in the relationship. Something as important as that can't be rushed or done on the spur of the moment. I'd want to plan out the perfect evening…make it magical for you…because that's what you deserve."

That was the moment when Kaito realized he was done for.

He wanted to melt into Saguru's arms and beg the detective to let him be his.

The earnestness of the smoldering look in those amber eyes combined with the words was what really did him in.

Even if Saguru was joking, the blonde _looked_ completely serious, and Kaito was sold.

"Well, I guess I should be going. It's getting late, and your mother is probably on her way to bed." The half-Brit bowed politely and turned to leave when Kaito called out, stopping him.

"Hey, don't you want your goodnight kiss?"

He blinked, raising an eyebrow at his companion.

"If you don't kiss at the end, the whole evening is a bust," the magician insisted. "I'm telling you this for your own good."

The blonde chuckled, stepping back up onto the porch. "And…how does one go about going for the goodnight kiss? Do I just lean in and peck you on the cheek, or do I have to do something first? Do I say anything? I've never kissed before."

"I can tell," Kaito sighed, deciding to take the lead. "Like this."

Their eyes met, and the shorter boy smiled softly before looking away.

"I had a really good time. Thanks, Guru."

"I'm glad," the detective returned, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

Kaito slowly leaned forward and let his lips brush Saguru's cheek. "Now you kiss me back," he instructed.

Saguru gulped and nodded, tentatively reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair from Kaito's face. He leaned in and reverently pressed his lips to Kaito's cheek as if he were touching something sacred. "I had a lovely evening, Kai. Thank you for agreeing to go out with me," he whispered as he pulled back.

The imp smirked, feeling giddy. "You know, I wouldn't say no, if you asked me again." And before he could say anything else stupid, the flirt quickly slipped inside of his house. "Night, Guru!"

"Good night," Saguru sighed, feeling like he was floating.

….

(8) v

Mikau: It's supposed to be a snail. Hmm… So, my brother asked me if I wanted to watch a show called Red Dwarf with him. I asked him what it was, and he replied, "It's a whacky British comed—" "—Yes!" I responded enthusiastically, cutting him off. England is another one of those countries that I'd move to just to watch television (Japan being first on my list). The funny thing is, I don't watch TV in America. Ever. Take care everyone! I'd appreciate it if you reviewed on the way out. Thanks for reading!


	39. The Monster Within

Mikau: Hey everyone! This is a weird little chapter in which Kaito has a mental breakdown and Saguru is a tease. Conan comes back next chapter, and then things get a little dark. Hopefully you'll like it anyway. Thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed for last chapter, by the way: Syrus07, Aniki-xvi, Cyanide Flowers, Mai-chan63, and Canadian. Also, for all of you HakuKai fans, I have a new one-shot out called The Pit: A Romance, in which the boys get buried alive together. It's more friendship than romance really, but check it out if you're interested. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd pick more exciting ending themes. The opening themes are always so energetic and action-filled. They get me really pumped up, but then the closing themes are always so chill. They make me sleepy. I always wonder why they pick such relaxing, calm songs for the closing.

….

The Monster Within

Kuroba Kaito went upstairs to his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." He accentuated each "stupid" with a thunk of his head against the headboard.

"I did not just hit on my best friend," he groaned, rolling over onto his back and sitting up.

He sighed and looked down, glaring at the little monster between his legs. "This is all your fault. You've caused me nothing but trouble ever since you found out that boys can get a rise out of you too.

"You're such a pig! A gluttonous pig! You only want one thing, and you don't care who you hurt as long as you get it! What? Do I not pay enough attention to you? You want Shin-chan and Guru too? Well, you—I can't believe I'm having this conversation."

Kaito lay back down on his stomach, picking up his stuffed llama and sighing. "You saw the way he looked at me when he said all that, didn't you, Sassy? I'm jealous of that guy he likes. I want someone to treat me like Guru plans on treating that guy."

He paused, curling up into a ball and hugging the llama to his chest. "Saguru's…actually a really great guy. I mean, I always knew he was a decent guy, a gentleman, but…he's…he'd be a good boyfriend. I had a lot of fun tonight, and he's actually kind of handsome, now that I really think about it. I mean, I've always known that he was good-looking, but…knowing that someone is attractive and thinking someone is attractive are two different things."

Kaito grimaced, getting up and starting to pace.

"I'm an idiot, aren't I, Sassy?"

The llama did not respond.

Kaito paused, deadpanning.

"Of course I am. I'm talking to a stuffed animal and expecting it to solve all of my problems for me." He sighed, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "It's not like I have anyone else to talk to, though. I could talk to Mom, but…no. Not happening. Geez. What to do? What to do?" He nibbled on his lip and resumed his furious pacing.

"Normally when something like this happens, I run to Saguru for help, but it's not like I can go up to him and say, 'Hey, Guru, I think I'm starting to develop a crush on you. What should I do about that? I was kind of thinking of seducing you away from that guy you've had your eye on for the better part of the year, but if I do that, I run the risk of ruining our friendship and my chances of a relationship with Shin-chan. What do you think? Or, maybe, I could play both sides of the table and fool around with you while Shin-chan's little to sate my outrageous lust.'"

The brunette snorted, disgusted with himself. "Yeah. That would go over well."

He rolled his eyes, going over to talk to his reflection in the mirror. "Or, better yet, I could go talk to Tantei-kun about all of this. 'Shin-chan, I was wondering if you'd be okay with me cheating on you? You see, lately I've been thinking about how dreamy Saguru's eyes are, and he just says the most romantic things, and it's got me lusting after him like some wild animal. What do you think? Should I give up on you and go for it, or would it be better to just play it safe? Oh, or I could mess around with the both of you. Yeah, I know. Sorry about your undying love for me, but I really just want to sleep with you, and you being eight years old most of the time is kind of a major turn-off.'"

His violet eyes narrowed as he stared himself down in the mirror. "I hate you. Who do you think you are playing around with everyone's feelings like that? You're selfish and greedy and mean, and I can't stand you! I despise you, you jerk! You slut! Y-You w-whore! I won't let you mess with my friends like that! Y-You don't deserve to have friends like t-hem."

Kaito choked on the last few words as tears welled up in his eyes.

He couldn't face himself any longer, so he went back to his bed, curling up once more with Sassy pressed to his chest.

"I'm a bad person, a-aren't I?" he sniffled, asking no one in particular. "I don't deserve to have either, and I can't even be happy with one. This is wrong. I'm wrong. I…"

"Kaito?" Kid called softly as his beloved whimpered.

The magician only shook his head, burying his face in the pillows and covers.

"I don't think that you're a bad person, if it counts for anything, and neither does No1."

"Yes I do!" the first Kaito responded. "He's a very, very bad person! How could he even think of cheating on Saguru like that? Why does he need Shinichi when he has Guru?"

"He doesn't have Saguru," the thief retorted, quickly losing his patience with his other half. "And _I_ vastly prefer the Meitantei to Tantei-san, thank you very much. He shouldn't mess with Saguru until he gets his feelings with Shinichi sorted out. I won't allow him to hurt my friend."

"I want Saguru!" the youngest persona whined.

"Well, _you_ take control of the body, then. Until you're the main personality again, your vote doesn't matter. Besides, you're ten," Kid growled.

"That doesn't change the fact that I still love Saguru!" No1 wailed. "And that means your vote doesn't count either, so there!"

The phantom thief was about to respond when Kaito barely managed to choke out, "S-stop it. Just…just shut up…. Please…please."

And the room fell silent.

000

It was a few days later when Hakuba made red velvet cake cupcakes that had Kaito ready to sit up and beg.

"You _have_ to teach me how to make these," the brunette insisted.

"Do you have time after school today? I still have ingredients left to make another batch or two." The detective shrugged, chuckling softly.

Saguru's plan to win his love over was going better than expected. The date had gone exquisitely, and the old adage was turning out to be right—the way to a man's heart truly was through his stomach.

The blonde had noticed eyes on him lately, and whenever he looked, he always saw Kaito rushing to look away.

There was also something in those amethyst eyes recently. They were softer, for one, and they looked interested.

Kaito was blushing more often and got frazzled more easily. He didn't react in quite the same way he had to Aoko, but there were similarities.

One day when the two teens had been hanging out in Saguru's room, the detective had experimentally stretched out his arm over the back of the sofa while they were watching a movie.

At first the magician stiffened, and the blonde could tell that his guest was _very_ aware of the positioning of that arm, so much so that he had stopped paying attention to the movie.

After a little while, Kaito had slowly inched closer over the middle line of the little couch and leaned back so that the hair on the back of his neck barely brushed against the arm.

Yes, Saguru could tell that his plan was having an effect, but he wasn't quite sure where he stood on the scale of "interested" with Kaito compared to Kudo.

000

"Hold it like this, Kai," Hakuba instructed, physically repositioning the magician's hands himself, making sure that as much of their bodies as possible were touching.

"Un," Kaito responded, gripping the side of the bowl a little too hard. He didn't trust his voice. He could feel Saguru's breath right on his neck as the Brit spoke, and, God, Saguru's groin was right there pressed against his butt.

"There you go," the blonde praised his student, internally singing the Hallelujah Chorus.

Kaito was responding to him! Finally, finally there was hope!

"Relax, Kai," the detective cooed, placing a hand on his crush's stiff shoulders.

This caused the magician to give a start, sending his dominant hand into the bowl of frosting.

Saguru could only laugh. "Why are you so jumpy today? It's not like I'm going to tackle you to the floor and slap handcuffs on your wrists."

The scheming blonde could just see the gears in Kaito's mind turning, taking his comment the wrong way.

"I mean, this isn't a heist, after all," he added with a smile.

"It's nothing." Kaito reached up to scratch his cheek nervously, forgetting about the frosting on his left hand and accidentally smearing it all over his face.

Saguru burst out laughing.

"You jerk," the magician growled, dipping his hand into the frosting a second time and slathering the goo onto his friend's face. He reached out to get the other cheek as well, but Hakuba caught Kaito by the wrists between peals of laughter.

"Let go!" the imp whined, struggling to free himself as he began to laugh as well.

"N-No," Saguru chuckled.

"Let go and I'll wipe frosting all over your face!" the smaller teen threatened through snorts.

"Don't you mean 'or else'? The 'and' option doesn't offer much of an incentive." The Englishman tightened his hold as Kaito fought to gain his freedom.

"No. I mean 'and.'" The trickster smirked.

"Then I suppose I'll just have to disarm you before you escape then," Hakuba reasoned, leaning forward and taking Kaito's left pinkie into his mouth.

Kaito grew still as his sort-of-crush licked away the frosting—soft, warm tongue curling around each finger and slowly sliding from the base to the tip.

Saguru gave each digit a hard suck before letting it go with a soft pop that reminded Kaito a little bit too much of the sound his lips made when they parted from Shinichi's.

The little monster helpfully commented that he would like a turn after the detective had finished with the fingers.

Kaito let his mind go hazy as he gave in and enjoyed the sensation.

"There," Saguru stated smugly once all of the frosting was gone. "You're no threat now that you've been de-clawed."

"Un," the indigo-eyed teen mumbled, tempted to give in to his little brain and jump his friend right then and there.

"Kai?" Hakuba called softly, noticing the dazed look on his love's face.

"Hm?" Kaito blinked, giving a start. He blinked a few more times before his eyes cleared up, and he looked up to meet Saguru's concerned gaze.

Geez, those gorgeous golden orbs looked magnificent.

"I…" The blonde paused, taking a deep breath before starting to lean forward.

Kaito knew that he wanted it this time. No, he didn't just want to be kissed, he wanted to be kissed _by Hakuba Saguru_ until he suffocated. He'd deal with the repercussions later.

Looking back on it later that day, Kaito would be glad that his phone rang when it did.

It startled both of the teenagers, causing them to break away from each other and search for the source of the sudden interruption.

"S-Sorry," the magician stuttered, fishing his phone out and looking at the caller display. "Gotta take this.

"Chrysanthemum?" the brunette asked, turning away from his friend.

"No silly nicknames today, Kiddo? What's wrong? You sound out of breath," the voice on the other end questioned in suspicion.

"It's nothing. I was just in the middle of something when you called, and it kind of startled me," Kaito explained. "Is this important?"

"Would I have called, if it weren't?" Chrysanthemum snorted. "It's not like I regularly call you up to see if you want to go…what do you young people do for fun these days?"

"Go to cafés or arcades." Kaito shrugged. "You're the same age as I am."

"I am not," the woman sniffed indignantly. "I found a gem you might be interested in. I also have the parts you wanted…. You're going to be fixing up that old car?"

"Yeah. How much do I owe you?" the boy replied without thinking much as to how she knew about his father's car, hidden away in the Kid Cave.

"Make sure you get a professional to look at it before you try to drive it," Chrysanthemum demanded sternly, like a worried parent.

"I know, I know. Geez," Kaito pouted. He didn't need to be told what to do.

"Very well. You can come and pick them up in the next hour or two. I have business tonight, so make sure you come soon. You owe me three sticks."

"Three sticks?" Kaito blinked.

"Of dango like you got me last time. I want the same type, too. I don't know where you got them from, but they were delicious."

Kaito blinked, not believing what he was hearing. "You want mitarashi dango in exchange for expensive car parts?"

"And a bottle of Royal Milk Tea. A big bottle, too. Not one of the little ones," the eccentric girl made her demands.

"But…I mean…I just got the dango from Seiyu. It's not like it was expensive—just 97 yen for three," Kaito tried to argue, feeling the need to pay back what he owed.

"Then get me two packs of dango and the milk tea, and we'll call it even. I guess I'll have to start shopping at Seiyu from now on. I usually go to AEON. I'll see you in about an hour with my snacks. Take care, Kiddo."

And the line went dead before the magician could argue.

He sighed and turned back to his detective who had remained oddly still throughout Kaito's phone conversation. "Sorry. I have to go. Work. Maybe we can continue where we left off some other time—with the cooking lesson, I mean."

"Un." Saguru nodded and started straightening things. "I think I'll just finish this batch myself since we're almost done, so you don't have to worry about cleaning up."

"A-Are you sure?" The magician felt obligated to stay, but it was awkward as hell, and he really did need to get going if he were going to swing by Seiyu to pick up snacks before going over to Kiku-chan's.

"Of course I'm sure." The blonde smiled good-naturedly, going over to the sink and wetting a washcloth. "You may want to wipe your face off, though. You've still got frosting all over it."

Kaito chuckled, blushing softly as he accepted the towel. "Thanks."

"No problem. It was fun," Saguru laughed, eyes shining. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kai."

"See ya, Guru."

And the rest of the day, try as he might, Kaito couldn't get that silly grin off of his face.

…

ゆ

Mikau: It's the hiragana character "yu," but I think it looks like a fish. For all of you right-handed people out there, I challenge you to spend a day doing things left-handed. Try things like opening doors and using scissors, and you will quickly learn that it's way more convenient to do so with your right hand. Sometimes I just want to shout, "Darn you right-handed world!" but I'd feel like a hypocrite, since I'm ambidextrous. It's no big pain for me just to use my right instead of my left, but there are days when I don't want to. I always wonder what other southpaws do. Sorry for the mini-rant. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks so much for reading!


	40. Torn in Two

Mikau: Hey everyone! I've missed you guys. It's been forever. I'm doing okay; sorry if I worried anyone with my long absence. Exam week was terribly busy with projects, papers, and presentations in three different languages, and then I had graduation preparation. After that, I moved back home with my family, and since then I've been getting settled in. I haven't had much time for writing. Since this chapter's so short, I'll try to update again soon. The next chapter's a lot longer. Thanks so much to those of you that reviewed last chapter: kakashikrazy256, Syrus07, Mai-chan63, Canadian, and Saia-chan. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, we'd be celebrating Kaito's birthday on March tenth. Although, I think being on the cusp of Gemini and Cancer fits Kaito's personality better than Pisces does. Happy belated birthday to Kaito and Aoyama-sensei!

….

Torn In Two

"You've been really clingy lately," Conan observed as his almost-boyfriend pulled the miniature detective even closer to his chest. "Is something wrong, Kaito?"

"I'm just being affectionate," the taller of the teens mumbled into the other boy's hair, nuzzling the nape of his neck. "Before…we used to be really affectionate with each other. Now…I can't enjoy it anymore because I feel guilty…like I'm leading you on, but...I just want to snuggle with you, Tantei-kun."

The young sleuth knew that something was up with his beloved, but he chose to let it be. It wasn't as if Kaito was lying. It was just that there were other reasons too that the magician didn't feel like voicing.

"Kaito, don't worry so much," Conan whispered in an attempt to comfort his love. "If all you ever think about is how you're going to lose me if things don't work out, then chances are things aren't going to work out and you're going to lose me. It's self-fulfilling prophecy."

The magician pulled the detective closer.

"Just take a deep breath, let it out, and get on with your life. You can't brood like this or else it will spoil everything for you. I don't want you to miss out on happiness because of some fear of something that's not going to happen. Let's just enjoy our time together, okay? Like we used to, before it was complicated."

The magician nodded, playing with a strand of Conan's hair. "Okay."

"You're still brooding," the pocket-sized gumshoe growled softly.

"I'm sorry," Kaito mumbled, letting go of his detective and sitting up to face him. "I'm sorry, Shin-chan. I didn't mean to, but I…I…" He let the tears fall at that point, too distressed and ashamed to do much about them. "I kind of sort of like Guru now too. It's just a crush, but…I'm confused, and I don't want to hurt you, so I didn't want to tell you, but I can't lie to you. I know lying's wrong in a relationship, and you have to be truthful with the people you love, and I…I'm sorry, Shin-chan. I'm just so, so sorry."

Conan's brows furrowed as he analyzed the situation. Something would have to be done—something drastic and soon. He _wouldn't_ lose Kaito after they'd come this far. He _couldn't_…not to Hakuba.

And so his plan began to form. It was slightly underhanded, but it was the only thing he could think of that would make sure Kaito remained his. It was simple really. All he had to do was give Kaito what he wanted. He would make Kaito his and remove all thoughts of the other detective from the thief's mind. Once they were in an established relationship, Kaito would be less likely to stray. He'd think of a way to keep the younger boy happy during the periods of time when he couldn't be Shinichi later. For now, he had to hold on for two more weeks.

"Shh," he cooed softly. "It's okay, Kaito. It's alright. You're just confused because of all of the hormones and emotions. You don't really have any feelings for Hakuba."

"I don't?" The magician blinked thrice, trying to see his detective's face through the tears.

"No. You're just really emotional now, and you're projecting your feelings of lust and confusion onto Hakuba. It's perfectly natural."

"It is?" This seemed to cheer the taller brunette up considerably.

"Yes. You're vulnerable at the moment, and it's affecting your judgment. Just relax. We'll be together again in just two weeks; do you think you can hold out until then, my love?"

Kaito nodded, scooping his not-quite-boyfriend up in his arms. He pressed his lips to Conan's. "I might need a little bit of help."

"I don't mind," the detective prodigy whispered, softly returning the kiss.

"No tongue," the younger boy requested. "No lust. Just romance, okay? I still feel like a pedo doing this."

"Understood," Conan mumbled, leaning into the slow, lazy kiss.

000

They had several other meetings like that one over the next two weeks. They'd get a light snack after school at Poirot's before heading over to Shinichi's to snuggle and talk and sometimes suck each other's lips raw.

It was still a little unsettling for Kaito since his partner appeared to be a child, but Conan used the bowtie, and it helped slightly.

Things were going better than they had been since their first kiss, and Kaito really did feel like he was starting to fall in love with Shinichi.

However, as happy as he was with his Tantei-kun, the sparks of passion he felt with the British detective didn't go away.

It was hard to concentrate in class (well it was always hard to concentrate in class because he was so damn bored, but…) because Saguru was just so distracting. The way he took notes, the way he gazed out the window, the way he smiled and waved his fingers whenever he caught Kaito staring…

And there was still food every day—usually a very healthy lunch box packed with rice, veggies, fruit, and some kind of protein like tofu, seafood (excluding fish), or eggs. The little bentou was always colorful and usually arranged so that the food items looked like some character. Doraemon and Kaitou Kid were the most popular themes, but sometimes he got Pokémon, Kamen Yaiba, or Anpanman. There was even one day when he got a patriotic lunch box—Union Jack motif, of course. There was always a dessert after he finished his meal, and the pastries were getting more elaborate by the day.

There was still chemistry between the two of them whenever they were together whether it was at Nancy's or hanging out in Saguru's room.

Kaito knew it was wrong to flirt with the blonde like that when he practically had a boyfriend already, but it was fun, gosh darn it, and Saguru always flirted back.

Kaito found himself playing footsies, scooting further and further over the center line of the couch, leaning back into Saguru's arm whenever it happened to find itself stretched out across the back of the couch, tilting his head to the side to rest on Saguru's shoulder, standing closer to the detective than he really should, and even walking close enough so that the backs of their hands brushed every once in a while as their arms swung

And the night before a heist the first week in December, Kaito gave Saguru a yellow rose with red at the tips.

….

^(^.^)-i— *

Mikau: I call it the bug repellent emot. The asterisk is supposed to be an insect. Please don't laugh at me. Yellow roses with red tips mean falling in love. In other news, I'm doing another poll. I'm going to write a Kaito birthday fic where the cast throws him a party. At the end of the night, something romantic is going to happen, but I want you guys to tell me what and with whom. You can go to my profile page to vote, if you're interested. So, it was pretty hilarious and terrifying at the same time. My mom and I go to see a lot of musicals over the summer, and in the program of the one we saw last Monday, there was an ad for the zoo. There was a picture of a boa constrictor wrapping around the entire page. It scared me so much that I made this little choked, shrieking noise and dropped my program. My mom rolled her eyes at me. She doesn't have a very high tolerance for inanities, and she thinks my ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) is silly. Anyway, thanks so much for reading guys! I hope to get another chapter to you within the week.


	41. Back Into The Closet!

Mikau: Hey guys! Nice to see you again. Sorry that it was longer than I anticipated. It seems that now that I have more free time, I have less time to write. Maybe it's because instead of being on my laptop doing school assignments, I'm out and about working out, doing chores, and looking for a job. I guess updates will be less frequent now. Sorry guys. Thank you so much to all of you that reviewed last chapter. It was great to hear from so many of you after having been away for a while: Nechangi, Cyanide Flowers, Syrus07, icarusdg, Ms. Poet, Aniki-xvi, WolvesAngelz, and kakashikrazy256. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would have Conan lead Mouri into solving a few more cases. Someone's bound to get suspicious eventually when the man can't remember more than a handful of the cases he's solved, and isn't it dangerous to sleep dart the guy on such a regular basis? I don't think Ran would be so forgiving if Shinichi gave her dad cancer or something.

….

Back Into the Closet!

_When Diana is in her full splendor,_

_At the hour of the wolf,_

_I shall come for the proof of her sorrow._

_-KID_

And so the taskforce found itself pulling a graveyard shift on the night of the full moon. They were guarding the Moon's Tear from Kid, who was due to appear anytime from three to four AM (some sources said five, but they were praying that those hadn't been the ones that Kid had consulted). They were prepared for the looong night ahead of them.

"You _really_ should be in bed," Hakuba hissed under his breath so that no one else could hear. (Not that there was anyone standing particularly close to the pair of underage detectives…) "I don't care how old you really are; that body of yours needs sleep."

"It's a Friday night," Conan scoffed, keeping a lookout for his soon-to-be-official boyfriend. "And since when do you care about my well-being, Detective Hakuba?"

"I don't, Edogawa-kun," the Brit retorted. "I just want you to go home so that I can have some quality time with my intended."

The smaller detective snorted. "Don't act so smug just because you've gained a little ground. He's still mine."

"But for how much longer, I wonder?" Saguru snickered. "He's such a flirt. It's really obvious that he's taken an interest in me, and you still have a little more than a week before you can change back. I wonder how much more progress I can make while you're out of commission?"

This elicited a low, possessive growl from the mini-sleuth, but he didn't say anything in response.

It was just as well, for at that moment, in a burst of light and obnoxious pink smoke, the Kaitou Kid appeared.

There was a mad dash to dog pile on the bandit, ending in aforementioned bandit's escape with the jewel in hand.

Sure, he stayed to taunt and flirt, but Kid was gone in another puff of smoke before anyone could slap a pair of cuffs on.

An announcement came in over the radio that Kid had been spotted escaping to the south on foot and to the east on his glider.

The officers took off, splitting up almost evenly in both directions while the teenage detectives made their way up to the roof.

Saguru later regretted that decision immensely.

If the detectives hadn't burst through the door at that moment and seen the gunmen using their thief for target practice, the Magician of the Moonlight probably could have gotten away.

Unfortunately, the detectives saw the gunmen, and the gunmen saw the detectives.

Conan fired a tranquilizer needle at the apparent leader of the group, but it hit the gun and bounced back, getting the grade schooler in the ankle. He was on the ground, out cold before Saguru could even comprehend what was happening.

Kid, fortunately, thought faster.

"Run!" he screamed, grabbing the sleeping sleuth's body off of the rooftop while simultaneously pushing Hakuba back through the door.

The white-clad thief pulled them down the stairs and through the various, twisting hallways of the building before yanking them inside of an itty-bitty janitor's closet.

Once inside, Saguru's brain began to function again, and he found himself starting to ask, "Wh—"

"—Shh!" Kaito cut him off, for it was Kaito now, cradling Conan's body lovingly to his chest and wrapping his free arm around the other detective's torso. "Shh," Kaito beseeched, pulling their bodies as close as he could with the small child between them. "If they find us, they'll kill us."

That got Saguru's attention. He'd ask questions later. For now, he concentrated on making as little noise as possible and enjoying the feeling of Kaito clinging to him so desperately because, if he were going to die, he might as well enjoy what he could while he could.

He circled his arms around the magician, letting his head fall to rest on his beloved's shoulder with his nose against the pulse point on the brunette's neck.

Kaito squeezed him closer, and they both listened to the sounds of thunderous footsteps, fading into the distance only to return minutes later, along with the pounding of their hearts, almost in sync.

They waited for a good hour as the footsteps came and went, hearts speeding up and bodies pulling closer whenever they drew near.

At four o' one and thirty-three seconds, everything fell silent.

They waited fifteen minutes longer before heaving a collective sigh.

"Kaito, who were those men, and why were they shooting at you?" Saguru demanded quietly, his arms still wrapped protectively around his love.

The smaller boy shook his head.

"Don't. Lie to me," the detective growled. "People don't just shoot at other people for the heck of it, and in Japan, only the police and _really_ nasty characters have guns. What the bloody hell have you gotten yourself into?"

"I can't tell you," Kaito whispered, setting his head down on his crush's shoulder.

"Why the devil not? If someone's trying to hurt you, I'll track them down and rip them limb from limb. Tell me who they are," Saguru commanded.

"They're the ones that killed my father," the magician conceded.

"Kaito, those men are dangerous, and you need to stop this foolishness. Now. Your father loved you, and he wouldn't want to see you hurt trying to get revenge," the detective insisted.

"It's not about vengeance," the smaller boy sighed. "It was at first, but now I know why my father became Kid in the first place. I have a job that I have to do, and I can't stop until it's done. I know that those people are dangerous, but…if I don't stop them, they'll just hurt more people. I can protect people this way."

"Kai, listen to me," Saguru whispered, running his fingers through Kaito's hair. "Leave it for someone else—the police…the professionals. There's no need to put your own life at risk."

"The police can't handle these guys, Guru," Kaito insisted. "This is something that only the Kaitou Kid can do."

"Then…let me help you," the detective sighed. "If I can't stop you, I can at least make sure you're a little safer."

"No." From the tone of his voice, Hakuba could tell that Kaito had his mind made up. "They killed my father because he knew too much. That's why they're trying to kill me too. If they think that you know anything at all or if they find out that you're helping me…Saguru, I'd die if they killed you. I won't tell you anything, so promise me that you'll keep your nose on your face where it belongs. Don't look into it. Promise me. This is all I can do to keep you safe."

Saguru looked into those pleading amethyst eyes and sighed, knowing that he couldn't go against his thief when he begged. "Are you positive that there's nothing I can do without getting myself killed? You shouldn't have to take these men on alone."

"Nothing," Kaito stated firmly, "and I'm not alone. Don't worry about me."

"Then I'll stay out of it," the Brit promised reluctantly. "But you can't tell me not to worry."

"Fair enough." The phantom grinned, handing over the Edogawan nuisance. "Could you take care of him for me? I'm going to make my escape, if it's safe. I want you to wait here fifteen minutes longer, okay? I'll come back if the coast's not clear."

"Alright," the detective sighed. "Be safe."

"I will."

But Hakuba couldn't help but worry until he got a text from Kaito an hour later that said, "Night, night. Dream of me."

000

There was another heist just a few days later, and the detective in love found himself going against his word and checking every nook and cranny of the building for gunmen.

The roof was clear, but just as he turned to head back downstairs, he saw something move on the rooftop across the way just out of the corner of his eye, glinting in the light—a gun.

He surreptitiously liberated one of the officers of their firearms and made his way to the roof of the opposite building, trying to take deep, cleansing breaths all the way there.

Once he'd arrived at his destination, he opened the door slowly so that it wouldn't squeak, and he scanned the area.

There was a woman in black with a sniper rifle, lying on her stomach over by the edge of the building. She was messing with a scope and wearing headphones.

Saguru took a deep breath and held out the gun. "Don't move!" he called out, hoping his voice wasn't shaking.

It sudden dawned upon him how stupid he was being.

The sniper froze, awaiting further instructions.

"Stand up and move away from the gun. Nice and slow, or I'll shoot," Hakuba demanded. "Hands in the air."

The woman did as instructed, taking out her ear-buds and getting to her feet. "Now what?" she growled softly, clearly irritated with herself for getting caught.

"Now you're going to answer some questions for me." The detective swallowed hard and inched closer. "Are you alone?"

"Yes," she replied after a minute, allowing him to get within two feet of her. "But that hardly matters, seeing as you are too."

Before our hero could react, the sniper had whipped around, taking his gun and knocking him to the ground where she held him with a foot to his windpipe.

Saguru had never been more scared in his entire life.

It wasn't so much the situation as the sniper herself. Her hair was neon yellow, and her eyes were the exact shade of a lime highlighter. It was utterly unnatural.

Light reflected off of her eyes like it would a jaguar's, making those haunting orbs seem to glow in the dark.

And she was staring him down with such a murderous expression etched into her face—soulless eyes and mouth pressed into a thin, grim line.

And then she blinked, sighed, and rolled her eyes, removing her foot from his throat. "Dammit, Goldilocks. I could have blown your head clean off, you know? What the hell were you thinking coming up here?"

Saguru blinked, not quite sure what was going on. He hesitantly stood and rubbed his sore throat. "I was looking for the people who have been shooting at Kid. I suppose that you're not a friend of theirs?"

"Nah, I came up here to scare them off. They usually leave as soon as they see me. I was trying to make myself visible…ish. Enough for them to see me and turn tail, but not enough to get the attention of the police. I guess I was a little sloppy, if _you_ spotted me." She paused, brow furrowing. "Don't go looking for Snake again. He's too dangerous for you, Blondie."

"Snake?" the detective filed away this new information. "He's the one that's trying to kill Kid?"

The sniper sighed, rolling her freaky eyes. "Leave. Now. Before I decide to kill you and blame it on the suits. You're too nosey, and I don't like you Hakuba Saguru. I tolerate your existence because Kiddo's fond of you, but I'm not a very patient woman, and your stupidity is trying."

"So…you're helping Kid, then?" Saguru risked angering the scary woman for the sake of information. "Who are you?"

She rolled her eyes and pointed to the crystal locket in the shape of a chrysanthemum hanging around her neck. "Now take your gun and leave before I decide to use it on you. I've got work to do, and so do you, Goldilocks."

Hakuba took the gun, gave a polite bow, and left before she changed her mind about killing him.

…

(-.- ) zzz

Mikau: Shh. It's sleeping. Okay, so the poll on my profile page about the Kaito birthday fic I'm planning will probably stay up until next Wednesday, for your information, if you haven't already voted. Also, I've been on quite the Arashi kick lately. I found a place online where I can watch vs Arashi raw, so I've been catching up on all of the episodes that I've missed since I left Japan. Sadly, Arashi's been on a losing streak. I've also been watching Aiba-kun's new drama Calico Cat Holmes's Deduction. It's really funny. I recommend you check it out whenever they start subbing it. That reminds me—I still have to see the new Conan episode. Well, thanks for reading, guys. See you next time!


	42. The Wounded Dove

Mikau: Hey guys! Great to see you again. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter: kakashikrazy256, athieisademon, Canadian, Aniki-xvi, Sweetest Writer, and Cyanide Flowers. I'm quite pleased with this chapter, even though it's a little dark and dramatic. I hope you guys like it too.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would require them to air one Kid episode every other month. Also, I don't recommend trying to treat gunshot wounds on your own using the instructions in the chapter. It's best to go to a hospital or call your country's version of 911.

….

The Wounded Dove

Three days later there was another heist—this one at an exhibition hall on the edge of town.

Kid was going after a champagne diamond called The Queen of the Nile.

It was a normal heist full of pink smoke, sleeping gas, and ego-bruising taunts—complete with streamers, confetti, and free dye jobs for everyone's hair. The phantom snuck in, grabbed the jewel, did his usual monkey business, and disappeared in a flash of light and puff of smoke.

After that, there was the expected amount of confusion and commotion until a report came over the radio that Kid was taking off on his glider to the South, towards the park.

It was just seconds later that that hateful noise filled the air, making Saguru's stomach turn—gunshots. It sounded like firecrackers going off.

The radio crackled to life again, announcing that the Kid had been shot out of the sky.

Without thinking much, the Brit took off towards the woods, desperately searching for any sign of the man he loved.

Conan was right on his heels, and, for once, Hakuba didn't mind in the least. He'd need help if Kaito were hurt, and having a second pair of eyes to aid in his search could only be viewed in a positive light.

After wandering the forest for what seemed like hours, the duo finally stopped to rest and gather their wits in a small clearing.

Saguru pulled out his phone and pressed number one on speed dial for what felt like the millionth time. "Maybe he got away," the blonde suggested optimistically.

"He'd be answering your calls, if he'd gotten away," the Edogawan pessimist just had to put a damper on Hakuba's little ray of sunshiny hope.

"Maybe he's not stupid enough to bring his mobile with him on a heist!" Saguru snapped, frantically scanning the area.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," the shrunken teen sighed.

"Well, we can't just give up, now can we?" the younger boy snorted. "When we find him, I'm going to slug him. Then I'm going to kiss the living daylights out of him."

"Not if I do first," the former Kudo Shinichi grumbled.

"Frankly, at this point, I wouldn't even care about going second," the Englishman confessed.

Conan was going to make a witty retort, but something white in a nearby tree caught his eye. He turned and was disappointed to see a dove where he had hoped to find Kid—until he recognized the bird. "Mona! It's Mona!"

"Mona?" Saguru blinked, trying to spot what the smaller detective was seeing.

"She's one of Kaito's girls!" Edogawa-kun trilled, racing to the base of the tree in which the dove resided. He tried whistling to her like Kaito had shown him, and after a little persuasion, she came down to sit on his arm.

Mona picked at Conan's clothing for a moment, tugging on it with her beck before flying off further into the woods.

"We should follow her?" Saguru questioned, already starting after the little avian.

"Un!" the miniature brunette agreed whole-heartedly and took off at a run to keep up.

Mona, faithful little bird to the end, led them straight to her master, curled up in a lopsided ball at the base of an oak tree.

He'd managed to change out of his white tuxedo mid-fall, but he hadn't had the opportunity to fully disguise himself on the way down. Kaito was halfway into a police officer's uniform, but his face wasn't disguised at all.

"Kaito!" Conan shouted at the same time Hakuba screamed, "Kai!"

The magician shivered in response, trying to turn towards the noise, but clearly unable.

The detectives rushed to his side and did their best analyzing the situation.

"Kaito, can you move your hands and feet for me?" Saguru inquired, taking in the sight of three gunshot wounds on the left side, scratches and scrapes from the fall through the tree branches, and a minor cut on the forehead.

Kaito responded slowly, but he was able to move both fingers and feet.

"Looks like there's no spinal cord damage," Hakuba noted, trying to remember the first aid he had learned.

"We still shouldn't move him too much, just in case," Conan added, scrutinizing the wounds. "They don't look that bad, but we need to get him to a hospital."

"We can't. They'd know it was him and arrest him. Not many Japanese get bullet wounds, and even fewer get shot on the same night Kid does in the same part of town. What the blue blazes are we going to do?"

"K-Ki—" Kaito mumbled reaching out.

"Ki?" Saguru and Conan blinked, straining to hear what the injured thief was saying.

"Ki…ku." Kaito pointed to Saguru's right, past the detective. "Kiku." He motioned again, eyes slipping closed.

"Kaito! Stay with us!" the blonde demanded, but it was no use.

"Kiku…" Conan echoed the magician's words, furrowing his brow in thought.

"To be effective, to listen, to hear, to ask, fear, chrysanthemum…" Saguru began to list as many possible meanings of the word as possible.

"Kiku-chan!" Conan shouted, beginning to search Kaito's pockets. "He means Kiku-chan. It was a while ago, but he told me that she was a miracle worker. Where's his damn phone?"

The younger detective looked behind himself to where Kaito had been pointing and saw the mobile phone lying among the leaves. He retrieved it quickly and handed it over.

The tiny tantei quickly set to work flipping through Kaito's contacts until he decided upon one that had no information other than a number. He set the phone to speaker and put it aside, needing both hands to fish handkerchiefs out of Kaito's pockets.

"Hey, Kiddo. Thought you had work tonight. What's up?" A teasing, older sister-type voice asked, chuckling softly.

Saguru knew that voice immediately—the voice was the same, even if it hadn't been that nice when talking with him. It was the sniper.

"Kaito's been shot, and we can't take him to the hospital. Can you help us?" he stated without much preamble. They didn't have time.

There was a pause and then confusion. "Goldilocks?" Another pause, and all emotion was gone from her voice. "Where are you?"

"About fifteen minutes South of Namikawa Exhibition Hall in a clearing in the woods," Hakuba reported while Conan set about wrapping the scarves around the wounds.

"I'm sending someone named Kei. He should be there in ten, tops, so just hang on. How's the Kiddo? Breathing? Conscious? Bleeding out? Is his skin warm? Hot? Cold? Where are the wounds?"

"He just passed out, but he's breathing fairly well. There's not a lot of blood, but he needs treatment. He's a little cold," Saguru listed, helping the smaller detective to put pressure on the wounds to stop the bleeding.

"There's a slight cut on the forehead that shouldn't need stiches and three gunshot wounds. One in the arm, one on the side above the hip but below the ribs, and one on the thigh. They're all on the left side," Conan added helpfully. "The wounds look clean. I think the bullets just grazed him, so there shouldn't be anything still inside."

"Any sign of a neck or spinal injury?" This "Kiku-chan" inquired, sounding a little on edge.

"No," the shorter detective replied.

"Then roll him over onto his side with the left knee out at a right angle. Put pressure on the wounds, and once the bleeding stops, concentrate on keeping him warm and breathing. I'll stay on the line with you until Kei gets there. Just stay calm, and ask if you have any questions." It sounded to Saguru that she was trying to calm herself more than the two of them.

The wounds to the side and forehead were minor and stopped bleeding easily, but the injuries to the arm and leg were deeper.

"It's bleeding through," Saguru observed, trying not to wretch as Kaito's hot blood trickled through his fingers.

"Layer the bandages," Kiku instructed. "Don't take off the ones that are soaked through."

"Take off your tie," Conan commanded, taking over the application of pressure while Saguru undid the tie and wrapped it around the leg wound.

"His breathing is slowing down," the blonde whispered.

"How much longer until help gets here, do you think?" the older boy asked, voice wavering.

"You mean me?" a gruff voice called out from the edge of the clearing. "I'd say right about now."

The two detectives could only stare at the cinnamon-haired man with dark, Prussian blue eyes.

Saguru mentally noted that his appearance looked every bit as unnatural as Kiku's, and the man seemed to be a good decade older than himself, but it was hard to tell.

"I'm Kei," the redhead informed them, coming closer to analyze the situation. "If you'll help me carry him to the van, I can start treatment. Couldn't get it through to the clearing because of the trees. Lift his legs on three, okay?"

They carried Kaito to a white van parked a little ways away, and Saguru helped Kei lay the injured boy down on the bed in the back of the fully-equipped ambulance.

"Happen to know his blood type?" Kei asked, getting out supplies and quickly setting to work.

"B positive," Saguru replied, standing awkwardly at the foot of the bed. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Not unless you have B positive too," the stranger mumbled, not really paying the blonde much mind anymore.

"A, unfortunately," Hakuba sighed, biting his lip.

"I'm AB." Kei shrugged, sticking an IV in Kaito's uninjured arm.

"I think I have B!" Conan exclaimed, scrambling into the back of the van.

"Think or know? You have to be sure since I don't have any testing equipment on me."

The little detective's brow furrowed. "I think it's either B or O. Ran would know, but it's too late to call. Either would work, wouldn't it?"

"I'd rather not chance it, Kid. Besides, I'm hesitant to take any from such a little guy like you. He'll be okay even without a transfusion….

"You two can wait in the front of the truck while I'm working. Just stay warm and out of the way; I'll take care of Runt, so don't worry. Chris would kill me if I let him die." Kei's mouth twitched, and Saguru could only guess that it was a smile. The strange man didn't seem to be very expressive. "Oh. Right. Is Chris still on the phone? Let me talk to her. Probably havin' a heart attack."

"Chris?" Saguru blinked, handing over Kaito's cell phone. "Runt?"

"Yeah," Kei replied in monotone. "Didn't she tell you her name was Chrysanthemum? It's not her real name, but…Runt's a nickname from way back when, when he used to be up to my knee. Guess he grew, though, while I wasn't lookin'. Go wait up front. It'll take a while." Taking the phone, Kei shooed them away.

The detectives climbed into the front seat and heaved a collective sigh.

"I…I guess we wait," Saguru stuttered, looking around, but not really seeing any of it.

The other teen grunted, and then it was silent besides the sounds of their teeth chattering.

Conan reached out and turned the heat up.

"It's unexpectedly cold for the very start of December…isn't it?" the blonde chuckled nervously.

"Un," the shrunken detective replied tersely.

It was too quiet.

"It's colder in England, though," Saguru continued several minutes later when he could no longer stand the sound of his own thoughts. "There's lots of snow too. My family has a manor out in the country, and whenever we were there in winter when it snowed a lot, I'd go out and play all day long. I didn't actually play, though. I never really played as a child. I just walked and walked and walked until I was too tired and cold to go any further. Then I'd sit and wait for someone to come find me. It usually took hours before anyone realized I was gone, and one year I caught pneumonia and almost di—"

"—Do you _have_ to talk?" Conan snapped, glaring at the taller teen before snorting and turning away.

"N-No. I'm sorry," Hakuba mumbled scooting further toward the car door and away from his companion. He looked out the window and bitterly noted that it had begun to snow.

He'd always hated the cold and the snow, but he'd been a stubborn child. His walks in the winter had been a cry for attention. Every time he did it, he'd hoped that his mother or father would come for him. He'd wanted them to notice his absence and come running to find him. He'd wanted to see the relived looks on their faces when they spotted him, and he'd wanted them to embrace him tightly like Baaya did every time she had to come and fetch him when he pulled that stunt.

Kaito would have noticed, he thought to himself as he watched the half-formed flakes spiral down from the heavens. Kaito would have known that he was gone, and Kaito would have come for him. Though, had his beloved been present, Saguru would not have had to perform his snowy day ritual in the first place. Had Kaito been there, they could have just played in the snow, making snow caves, snowmen, snow angels, and snow balls to lob at each other. They would have exhausted each other completely and retired to the den to drink hot chocolate before falling asleep in front of the fireplace.

Saguru promised himself that he would take Kaito to his country house when the injured boy got better. They'd create new memories to make up for all of the sadness and loneliness he'd known as a child there. He _swore_ to take the magician because Kaito _was_ going to get better. There was no way that he was going to die. He couldn't. Not without knowing how Saguru felt about him. He couldn't die and leave the detective alone. Not again. The blonde never wanted to be alone like that ever again.

"Geez," Conan sighed, voice a little shaky. "S-Stop…cry-ing," the little sleuth hiccupped. "H-He's not going to d-die. He can't, so s-stop crying, dammit."

"But his face was so pale," Saguru murmured, wrapping his arms around himself as his body shook. "I know he wasn't losing blood quickly, but he's still losing blood, and if it doesn't stop, he's bound to bleed out eventually! He could be bleeding out now for all we bloody well know!"

"Calm down, dammit!" the smaller teen ordered through tears. "He's going to be fine!"

"But what if he's not?" The younger boy broke down into sobs as he gazed at his bloody hands. "Oh, God. What if we lose him? What are we supposed to do then?"

"_I_ will die alone. _You_ will be just fine. After a few years, you'll find some nice, well-bred young woman to marry and settle down with. You'll get over it given a few decades," Conan mumbled, looking down at his own palms.

"N-No," Saguru choked. "Kaito is it. I don't have enough left in me to even think about loving again if… It's been hard enough learning to open up even to him, and I've already invested so much of myself into this relationship that… I can't do it again, and certainly not with a normal person. The reason I get on so well with Kaito—the reason I can connect with him—is that we're both broken. You know how he is with his issues, and you're a good enough detective to be able to tell that, well, 'something is wrong in Euro-Detectiveland,' as he would say. You can tell that I'm not a very emotionally healthy person, right?"

"Yes, I gathered as much," the brunette sighed. "Well, it's not like I'm particularly well either. None of us are."

The Englishman nodded, and silence reigned once again, broken only by the sobs and sniffles of both detectives.

"You wouldn't consider someone else if Kaito…?" Saguru asked after a while.

"No," the shrunken teen stated firmly. "Who else could learn to see past this face? This body? No one my real age would consider it, and I can't even imagine getting involved with someone my physical age. There is one option, but…it'd be practically the same either way for me. Like you, I don't particularly care to invest the time or emotions in another relationship either."

"Here's an idea—the two of us could always end up together," Hakuba chuckled darkly.

"I don't even like you," Conan snorted.

"Well, that's rather the point isn't it? You don't _have_ to like me, if it's just about not dying alone…. If it's just a physical relationship…besides, you don't even know me," Saguru replied quietly, voice dull.

"I know how many packets of sugar and cream you put in your tea, and I know that you like Jeremy Brett best as Sherlock Holmes. I find you to be slightly stuck up at times and a little boring, but I think I'd generally like you if it weren't for our little rivalry over Kaito. I'd never love you, but we could be friends. I wouldn't object to a physical relationship either," the older detective confessed.

"I have to admit that I probably only find you infuriating because of your relationship with the man I love. I know you drink your coffee black, and I know you enjoy soccer as well as detective work. I also think I could learn to become fond of you, if there were no longer anything for us to fight over, but I'd never love you either."

"Then we have a contingency plan," Conan laughed bitterly, sidling up to the blonde.

"Yes, I suppose we do," Saguru scooped up the smaller boy and held him to his chest. "He just can't die. He can't."

"He w-won't," the brunette assured, crying along with the blonde as he took off his glasses and buried his face in Saguru's chest. "So stop crying already. You're making me c-cry too."

….

o((/)_(/))o

Mikau: It's wearing glasses…with a glare on the lenses. Anyway, what did you think? No, I'm not going to kill Kaito, but something super dramatic needed to happen so that Shinichi and Hakuba could get to know each other better…. So, I ended up watching the 2012 season of the UK's Biggest Loser, and it was really interesting. I like how weight is measured because it makes losing it seem more manageable. It's easier for me to think, "I just have to lose one stone," instead of "I want to lose fourteen pounds." I don't know why, but I tend to like the UK's versions of things better than the American version. For instance, I love Strictly Come Dancing, but I don't really care for Dancing With the Stars. Maybe it's the accents. Actually, I think it's probably the judges/trainers. Anyway, thanks for dropping by, everyone. Hope to see you next time as well! Take care!


	43. The Ceasefire

Mikau: Hey everybody! It's so good to see you again! Thank you for your patience; I know it's been an unreasonably long amount of time, and I kind of left you hanging. The first month my internet was really sporadic, so when I did have time to post, it wouldn't let me on. The internet guy came to my place six times, and I had three different modems or routers or whatever over the course of forty-eight hours. It was sort of ridiculous. The Olympics happened, one of my best friends was in town (I hadn't seen her in person in two years), and then my aunt and her family were in town. I also hadn't seen them in two years. After that, my grandpa had to be hospitalized, and it wasn't looking very good, but he's out now and doing better. My mother decided I needed a job until I can get back abroad to teach, so I applied at a flower shop. I got the job and started working. It has nothing to do with any of my three degrees, but it's a job in this economy, and I actually really like it. I think that's everything. I'll let you know if I forgot anything at the bottom.

In the meantime, I'd like to thank MewShiny, Sweetest Writer, icarusdg, Aniki-xvi, Athina Dark-Angel of Death, kakashikrazy256, Raifuujin, and ItsALifeToLiveIn for their reviews. It really means a lot to me that you take the time to share your thoughts. With that said, it's time for a shameless plug before we get this show on the road: I've got a new one-shot for Kaito's (belated) birthday. It's called The Truth in the Subconscious. I think KaiShin fans will like it best, but it's really got something for everybody in there, including our dear Hakuba, Heiji, Ran, Akako, Keiko, Conan, Sonoko, and even Nakamori-keibu. Don't ask. Just go read it.

Disclaimer: I don't own it, but kakashikrazy once commented in one of her reviews that Conan should probably carry more than one tranquilizer dart. You think he would have considered the benefits of carrying extras after all of the times he's missed/hit the wrong target and had to improvise.

….

The Ceasefire

"Hakuba-kun," a gruff voice attempted to whisper softly.

Saguru blinked. He'd been having the worst nightmare ever. The dazed detective yawned and reached up to wipe the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand only to notice the dried blood on his palm.

Suddenly the blonde was wide awake. He whipped around to face Kei, jostling and stirring the smaller detective sleeping in his lap.

"Is Kaito…?" He held his breath.

"Runt'll be okay," the redhead sighed, and Saguru noted that the other man looked completely drained. "Took a turn for the worse two hours ago—stopped breathing, heart stopped, and all that—but Chris brought some blood over and gave me a hand. She left about an hour ago, once he was stable."

"So, he's okay now?" Conan asked, putting his glasses back on despite having perfect vision.

Saguru supposed that it was like a security blanket.

"Breathing on his own now, and the bleeding's stopped." Kei shrugged. "He'll need lots of rest and good food the next few days, but Kurobas usually make fast recoveries, and I gave him some stuff to help."

"Only a few days?" Conan raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean weeks?"

"Nope. Days. Should be able to go to school on Tuesday," the mysterious man insisted.

"That's impossible!" Hakuba exclaimed.

"'S not. Maybe with _your_ medicine, he'd be bedridden for weeks, but with _our_ advanced technology, he'll be good as new 'fore you know it." There was a boast somewhere in there.

"Just who are you people?" the shorter teen demanded.

Kei's eyes hardened as he turned to gaze at the small brunette. "You don't need to know that…but I suppose you can think of us as Grey. We exist so that White can be White and Black can be Black. You'd be White, and I bet you can guess who's Black."

It was silent a moment before Saguru cleared his throat. "Regardless, thank you so much for your help. We're in your debt." He did his best to bow in the confines of the car with Conan still on his lap.

"Thank you," Conan echoed, dipping his head.

Kei just shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it. You don't owe us nothing. Runt's old man was Grey, and that means Runt's Grey too…or at least off-white—he's kind of a mutt what with his mom—but we take care of our own. 'Sides, most of us are up to our eyeballs in debt to the old guy, anyway…. Wanna see Runt before I cart him home?"

000

Kaito was pale, but he was breathing normally, and all of his bandages were clean.

The heart monitor he was hooked up to was making regular little beeping sounds, and there was no sign of pain on the boy's face.

It looked as if he were sleeping soundly.

"Thank God," Saguru sighed in immense relief as he kneeled next to his beloved's bed.

"Kaito," Conan whimpered, climbing to sit on top of the stool at the bedside.

"Idiot," the blonde choked, beginning to tear up anew as he carefully brushed Kaito's bangs out of his face and caressed his pale cheeks. "You absolute i-idiot," he mumbled, pressing his lips reverently to Kaito's forehead—where, oddly enough, there was no longer any trace of the cut that had been there before.

Saguru stepped back once he was finished to allow the smaller sleuth access to the thief.

The grade schooler laughed through his tears, lovingly nuzzling the younger teen's hair and neck and face. He kissed every inch of Kaito above the shoulders, saving the lips for last.

The taller teen politely pretended not to notice or care as he silently wished that he were allowed to kiss Kaito as well.

After they were finished "acting like wusses," as Kei mumbled under his breath, the redhead drove them to Kaito's house, and Kei and Saguru transferred the injured teen from the bed in the back of the makeshift ambulance to his own boudoir. Kei carried Kaito bridal style while Saguru was in charge of managing the various devices that the thief was hooked up to.

Chikage thanked the two detectives profusely for saving her son's life and offered them hot showers, a warm meal, and a comfortable futon to sleep in.

Unfortunately, there was only _one_ spare futon, so the rivals ended up sharing it, but sometime during that horrible night they had silently come to an understanding and agreed to put their differences aside until the object of their affections was well again.

Kaito woke up the next day, an hour or two after lunch, while Saguru and Conan were sipping tea and reading aloud to each other from the romance novels they had found on the magician's bookshelf.

"Jack knew Esmeralda was dangerous, but somehow that just made him want her more," Conan was reading in English (quite badly, but Saguru wasn't going to say anything now that he and the other detective were finally getting along) just as Kaito groaned, stirring.

Both detectives dropped what they were doing and scrambled to their loved one's side just as he opened his eyes. They held their breath as he blinked and gazed in confusion up at them.

"Guru? Shin-chan?"

"Hey," Saguru whispered with a grin, thoroughly relieved.

"Morning," Conan added, wearing a similar smile.

"What…" Kaito blinked again as he sat up without much trouble. "I got shot," he hissed when he accidentally moved his left arm the wrong way.

"Yes, you did," the blonde replied gravely.

"And you guys saved me?" the magician asked, taking in his surroundings.

"We just called Chrysanthemum like you told us to and her friend Kei did most of the work," Conan informed the invalid.

"Kei?" Kaito's brow furrowed. "Hmm…I don't know him."

"He knew you, though," Saguru said in a slightly accusatory tone. "He said that he knew you as a child—that he knew…" He stopped short of saying 'your father.'

These people were suspicious and most likely dangerous, and Kaito was already in enough trouble chasing after his father's ghost.

Saguru didn't want the thief getting any more involved with Kiku and Kei than necessary, so he decided that lying by omission was probably the best route.

Kaito blinked again, cocking his head to the side. When the European detective didn't continue, he just shrugged. "I don't remember anyone named Kei. What did he look like?"

"Dark red hair and really bright, dark blue eyes. He looked like a foreigner, but his Japanese was perfect. He spoke in a light Kansai-ben, though," Conan supplied the details.

"I think I would remember someone like that," Kaito sighed, lying back down slowly.

"Kaito, just who were those people?" the runt asked softly, brow scrunching up in either worry or concentration.

"I'm not so sure, actually," the magician finally admitted after a long pause. "Kiku-chan approached me one day not long after I found out about my dad's secret, and she said that she'd help me."

"And you just trusted her?!" The bespectacled boy went bug-eyed as he screeched.

"Not at first," Kaito snorted. "I'm not stupid. In the beginning, I asked for small favors like odds and ends parts for non-Kid-related things. Over the next year I asked for progressively bigger things, and she always gave me anything and everything I wanted, no charge. I always ask, and she always says that someone else has already paid my tab in advance. Then she started acting as an actual accomplice, and she's never let me down. She's earned my trust."

"Kaito, I think that woman is dangerous," Saguru voiced his concern.

"Oh, I know that she's dangerous," the thief laughed, rolling his eyes. "But she'd never hurt me."

"How can you be sure?" Conan inquired out of curiosity, for he knew nothing of Chrysanthemum.

"From what I gather, she's a very logical woman. She wouldn't waste her time going to such lengths to protect me only to do me in herself," Kaito mumbled, settling back down under the covers. "She worries about me more than my own mother. Speaking of which…where is she?"

"I'll go get her," the smaller detective volunteered, vaulting off of the bed.

Once Edogawa-kun was gone, Hakuba turned back to his bedridden beloved and frowned. "Kai? I want you to quit."

"I can't. I told you," the thief sighed, closing his eyes to avoid that piercing golden gaze. "Look, I've been shot before. Just because you saw this time doesn't make it any different."

"Yes. It does," the blonde growled. "Kaito, I'm willing to bet that you've never been injured that severely before. If Kudo and I hadn't have found you, you'd be dead, Kaito. Dead. Now, stop this."

"I _can't_," the brunette insisted sorrowfully. "I wish I could, but I can't, Guru."

"Then I'll stop it for you," Saguru hissed. "With all I know—what I've seen and the evidence I've managed to gather—I could have you arrested this afternoon, and not even the best lawyer in the world could save you. I could have you locked up, safely behind bars before you could even blink. I don't want to, Kaito, but I'd rather lose your friendship than see you dead."

Kaito sighed, opening his eyes and smiling. "Thanks, Guru. It makes me really happy that you care so much about me…but putting me behind bars wouldn't solve anything."

The detective blinked, thoroughly baffled. "What do you mean?"

"I'd be dead within twenty-four hours of the announcement of my arrest—and that's me being optimistic. These people that are after me, they have agents all over the place—in the police force…in the government. You can't protect me from them, Saguru." Kaito smiled sadly, patting his crush on the head. "Thanks, though."

"Then I'll just have to tie you up and keep you in my basement," Saguru sighed, resigned to his uselessness and the futility of his efforts to defend the one he cherished.

"Kinky," the imp chuckled. "Like you could keep me locked up."

"_He_ may not be able to, but_ I_ can," Chikage barked from the doorway. "Kuroba Kaito, you are grounded, Mister."

"Hey, Mom," the young thief grimaced, trying to force a smile.

"Don't 'hey Mom' me!" the extremely displeased mother snapped. "You!" She pointed at him, stalking over to his bedside (Saguru quickly got out of the way, going to stand by Conan by the doorway). "You are worse than your father, young man, and you are grounded for the next three months—one for each bullet wound you so carelessly picked up last night!"

"But the one on my side is just a graze," Kaito argued.

"Three months. No heists. You are to report to me every time you go anywhere, and you are to be home no later than midnight, are we quite clear?"

You couldn't pay either of the detectives to be on the receiving end of Kuroba Chikage's maternal rage.

"I got it, Mom," Kaito replied sincerely. "I'm sorry."

"You idiot!" she cried, dropping to her knees and embracing her boy. "You stupid, stupid boy. Why do you insist on frightening me so?"

Saguru and Conan took the opportunity to head downstairs so as to give the mother and son a bit of privacy.

"So…are we rivals again?" the bespectacled boy inquired, gazing up at his companion.

The blonde blinked. "I suppose so…eventually…maybe in a few days. For now I can only think of you as the guy who helped saved the man I love, the man I shared a futon with last night, and my contingency plan. Perhaps I'll be able to despise you again after a few days, but…right now is a little…"

"Yeah, I feel the same way," Conan sighed, pouring a cup of coffee for himself and a cup of tea for his soon-to-be once-again rival. He handed Saguru one packet of sugar and two packets of creamer.

….

Ò.ó

Mikau: I'm raising an eyebrow at you. I really hope the accent marks show up. Anyway, again, thank you sooo much for your patience, and I hope you enjoyed it. By the way, up top I forgot to say that it was my brother's 18th and my grandma's 80th birthdays on August 26th and 28th, so that kind of added to the busyness.

In other news, my brother did something really nice for me about a month ago. He practically lives on his computer playing MMORPGs, just to give you an idea of how important it is to him. He's seriously on there all the time. Anyway, one Saturday my computer was running really, really slow while I was trying to watch the new Kaito episode. It wasn't working, and I was close to tears because I have seriously waited eight years to be able to watch Magic Kaito episodes. My brother stopped playing his game and let me borrow his computer so that I could watch Kaito and Hakuba. It really meant a lot to me. Geez I'm chatty today. Well, I hope to see you all soon. Take care!


	44. Inquisition Over Diner Part Two

Mikau: Hey guys! I'm back again! Hopefully I'll be able to post more often like back in the good old days. Anyway, thank you so much to Raifuujin, icarusdg, Athina Dark-Angel of Death, Sweetest Writer, and ChuChuChi for reviewing. I really appreciate it you guys; your feedback is always super helpful. Well, I have lots of news, so I don't have a lot of room to be chatty.

I have some new fics out! The Truth in the Subconscious which will now be a multi-chapter work thanks to icarusdg. She said it could use a second part, and I thought, "You know what? You're right!" So everyone that enjoyed TiS should thank her for its continuation.

Also out is The Cost of Being Considerate, Hakuba's birthday fic, the sister fic to TiS. TiS is going to turn into a KaiShin fic, and CBC is also going to be a multi-chapter HakuKai response. Thank icarusdg.

Finally, I have a new fic called Trapped in the Twilight. You'll have to look for it and read the description because I'm running out of space, but even though the first chapter is a little depressing, I promise it lightens up in the second chapter when Kaito's in it more. Without further ado, enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the henchmen would get a wardrobe makeover. The guys in trench coats that back up Snake have it especially rough. It must be hard to go to work every day and be enthusiastic about doing evil in such horrendous uniforms. I bet you five dollars that productivity would increase were the henchmen allowed to wear zoot suits. Just sayin'.

….

Inquisition Over Dinner Part Two

Kaito was back in school on Tuesday, just as Kei had insisted he would be, and the magician showed no signs of damage.

Saguru flinched every time Aoko-kun took a swing at the clown, and he winced every time the brunette hopped about the room like a flea.

But there were no signs of wounds on Kaito's body where the bullets should have left ugly scars.

Hakuba would know. He had stared incredulously at the brunette's physique as they had changed for gym.

Kaito caught his gaze, chuckling as he posed suggestively in nothing but his boxers. "See something you like, Detective?"

"N-NO!" the blonde shrieked, blushing the exact hue of Kaito's favorite shade of lipstick—Scarlet Seduction. "I was merely…um…merely…"

"Checking out my scantily-clad, masterpiece of a body," the mischief maker finished for him, slowly approaching like a jaguar on the prowl. "No need to be ashamed, Guru. Everyone's done it at one time or another…. I need you to come over tonight."

"I'd be more comfortable if you would put your clothes back on, if you insist on standing so close, Kaito," Saguru mumbled, trying to look anywhere but at Kaito and his magnificent body.

"Is my partial nudity distracting?" the imp chuckled, leaning in and resting his palm against the locker to the right of the detective's head.

The rest of the locker room certainly found the homoerotic display distracting. Nearly everyone had stopped in various stages of undress to watch the goings on between the magician and detective.

"Extremely so." The blonde shifted his gaze left.

"So can you make it tonight, or what?" Kaito sighed, coming a smidge closer so that their noses were scant inches apart.

"Huh?" Hakuba blinked, and the rest of the young men waited for a kiss or for Kaito to push Saguru down and ravish him or something.

"I asked you to come over for dinner tonight," the magician repeated patiently. "Mom's boyfriend is going to be there, and I need you and Shin-chan…so…?"

"W-What time?"

"Six-thirty," Kaito chirped, smiling as if Saguru had already agreed.

"If you need me," the blonde acquiesced.

"I need you," the shorter teen confirmed, closing the gap between the two of them and kissing the detective on the cheek (to the hoots and hollers of the crowd of spectators). "Sorry. Couldn't leave the audience hanging."

000

Hakuba found himself a welcome guest at the Kuroba household when he arrived that night—one of the only upsides of Kaito being mortally wounded.

Chikage had taken quite a liking to him after he'd saved her son's life.

"Saguru-kun! It's wonderful to see you! So glad you could come!" she greeted him warmly, ushering him inside and onto the couch. "Kaito will be down in just a sec." The fearsome woman then turned to the stairway and bellowed, "Kaito! Company's arriving! Come down and entertain our guest while I put the finishing touches on dinner!"

"Coming!" a response echoed down the stairwell, and, seconds later, there was Kaito in black cargo pants with innumerable pockets, zippers, and chains. On top, the magician wore a tight black knit shirt with three-quarter length sleeves that sat just off the brunette's shoulders, baring his neck for the world—well, at least, if Kaito hadn't been wearing a grey scarf to offset all of the black. "You're staring…. Do I look weird?"

"N-No. Nothing like that. It's just I mostly see you wearing your school uniform, so…it's different. You look great." Not that clothing had anything to do with how amazing Kaito looked as far as the young detective was concerned. "The outfit's very you. Comfortable, yet stylish."

"You really think I look good?" Kaito futzed with the hem of his shirt as he stood on the landing, leaning against the railing.

"I believe I used the word 'great.' Would you prefer I compare you to an angel, goddess, or other heavenly being? I feel it's a little cliché, but…" Saguru chuckled.

"Oh, Guru. There you go again with your natural playboy routine." The born-actor pretended to swoon , taking a seat next to his friend. "So this outfit is alright?"

"Kai," the detective sighed, allowing his arm to stretch out along the back of the couch. "you look so hott, I could jump you right here and now."

"No, Guru. We mustn't!" Kaito trilled. "Maybe later, though. Shin-chan will be here any minute, and I don't want to be caught in the act of infidelity."

Saguru snorted, rolling his eyes at his crazy little crush.

"So I look okay?" the magician asked once again.

"Devine, Kai. Devine," the blonde mumbled in monotone.

"Good. 'Cause I changed, like, seriously eight times," Kaito sighed, settling down into the couch and subsequently Hakuba's arm.

"Nervous, much, Kaito?" Saguru allowed his arm to bend slightly so that his hand rested on his intended's upper arm.

"Little bit," the normally unshakable teen murmured, turning slightly to face his crush without breaking away from Saguru's gentle hold. "Thanks for coming. It means a lot to me."

"I'm glad that you invited me," the blonde confessed, leaning in a little closer than socially acceptable. "It's no trouble at all."

There was an additional "Anything for you," implied in his eyes.

Kaito smiled.

So did Saguru, and they found themselves tentatively leaning in closer and closer until the doorbell rang.

Kaito gave a start and then jumped up. "I-I'll get it."

"_What the hell do you think you're doing, Kuroba?"_ he mentally berated. Thoughts of getting laid before he accidentally pounced his best friend also crossed his mind.

"Hey, Shin-chan!" the mixed-up little teen purred, scooping up his for-all-intents-and-purposes boyfriend and pecking him on the lips.

All the while No1 screamed, _"How dare you do that right after almost kissing Saguru?"_

"_I would also prefer that you not almost kiss my friend and then turn around and kiss Tantei-kun right in front of him,"_ Kid added rather flatly. _"It makes you look like a slut."_

While doing his best to ignore the voices in his head, Kaito carried the little detective over to the couch and sat back down next to Hakuba, only not so close this time.

"Hakuba."

"Kudo."

The detectives nodded in civil greeting to one another.

The taller of the brunettes noted that the usual contempt was missing from both of the other teens' voices. "You two aren't going to fight?"

"Not unless he starts something." Saguru shrugged.

"We've come to an understanding," Conan informed the magician.

"When did that happen?" Kaito raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"The other night when you were bleeding out in the park. We decided to get married if you died," the miniature sleuth laughed darkly.

Their host didn't even have time to question it before the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it!" Chikage shouted, dashing from the kitchen (but pausing to check her reflection in the hall mirror).

Kaito stood and hesitantly trailed behind his mother, all the while holding Conan to his chest like a baby koala.

Saguru followed as well, standing so that his shoulder brushed his beloved's.

The door opened, and standing there in the doorway was a pudgy, middle-aged man in a dress shirt, slacks, and tie.

Kaito breathed an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

This Sakurai Hiro was nothing like his father.

Chikage kissed her boyfriend on the cheek before taking him by the arm and turning to make the introductions. "Hiro, this is my son, Kaito."

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Kuroba-kun," the short, funny man chuckled nervously, bowing as he shook Kaito's free hand. "Chikage's told me a great deal about you."

Kaito gave a crooked little smile and laughed. "Good. Then you already know that I'm trouble. Nice to meet you, Sakurai-san."

"This fine young man next to him is Hakuba Saguru, his classmate. Saguru-kun is a skilled detective and a better friend than Kaito deserves," Chikage boasted.

"It's true," Kaito sighed with a shrug, making the detective in question blush.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hakuba-kun," the stocky man replied, bowing and shaking hands with Saguru.

"The pleasure is mine, Sakurai-san."

"And this little guy is Kaito's friend Edogawa Conan. He's also a talented detective and more than Kaito deserves," their hostess finished up.

"Also true," the magician confessed.

"Nice to meet you, Edogawa-kun." Sakurai-san smiled, feeling much more comfortable with Conan than the other two.

"Nice to meet you too!" Conan sang, putting on the childish innocence which only fooled the guest.

"Well, let's all move into the dining room for dinner, shall we?" Chikage urged, pleased that no fights had broken out thus far.

000

Saguru had to admit that Mrs. Kuroba could out-cook his own mother, and her skills were almost on par with Baaya's.

They were having a variety of dishes including: rice, miso soup, salad, pickled vegetables, grilled meats, an elaborate tofu dish, and a western fruit tart for dessert.

During dinner, they'd made polite conversation with Conan, Saguru, and Sakurai-san doing most of the talking.

Kaito sat back and listened, letting the detectives do their work.

Apparently Sakurai-san had a private practice, but he also worked as a consultant for the police, doing various tasks such as criminal profiling. He held degrees in psychology, anthropology, and sociology, and enjoyed watching baseball. His favorite team was the Hanshin Tigers.

He was a kindly, soft-spoken man with a tendency to fidget nervously (but that could just be because of the situation). He smiled often, and Kaito gave him points for that.

"How do you feel about the Kaitou Kid?" Conan asked near the tail end of dinner.

"The Kaitou Kid?" Hiro-san, as he had asked them to call him, blinked. "Well, from a professional prospective, he's pitiable."

Kaito tried his best not to twitch.

"Pitiable?" Saguru echoed.

"Yes. He's obviously not the original. I remember the first one, and his behavior has changed. Only slightly, though, so there's a good chance that the present Kid was related somehow to the first. Maybe a relative or someone the first Kid trained. Obviously something happened to the first Kid.

"You can tell that the loss of his mentor has greatly affected the second. You can see in his behavior that he's crying out for attention. He wants to be accepted and loved. He's also searching for something; you can tell from the items he targets. It's a search pattern. I'm not quite sure what the thing is, but it seems to be important.

"Yes, he steals, but I don't think he's a bad person. He always gives back what he takes, and usually the people he steals from are no worse off afterwards…unless they were crooked to start with. He often exposes other, more nefarious criminals, and I can't say that I have a problem with that.

"Generally, I like him. He's good entertainment, and he brings joy into many lives. I only wish there was something I could do to help _him_. He's obviously a very good, moral person who has suffered a great deal. I feel it must be tough on one so young."

"What do you mean 'so young'?" Saguru raised an eyebrow at the plump, squat man.

"I'd say somewhere in his twenties. Little more than a child." Hiro-san nodded. "Why ask about Kid?" the doctor added as an afterthought.

"No reason." The grade schooler shrugged.

"They're worried about me," Kaito spoke up for the first time almost since the start of dinner. "Since I'm Kid's biggest fan. All the questions they've asked you—well, Guru was probably making polite chitchat a third of the time, but Shin-chan hardly ever asks irrelevant questions—they've been trying to determine whether or not you're good for my mom and me. They're better than a polygraph. Sorry for giving you the lie detector test without your consent, but I'm a little slow to trust strangers with my loved ones."

"Understandable." Sakurai-san nodded, blinking away his surprise. "Did I pass?"

"He's clean." Conan shrugged.

"I have no objections," Saguru replied. "I could ask my father about his involvement in the police, if you really wanted me to confirm his story, but he seems legitimate."

"You pass." Kaito smirked. "I grant you permission to date my mother."

"Kai, I believe they would have continued seeing each other regardless," the blonde snickered.

"They're obviously nuts for each other," Conan added with a roll of his eyes.

"Could you two at least pretend that I have some say in this matter?" the magician pouted, shoving his crushes, seated to either side.

"No," was their simple reply.

"Great. I'll be back with dessert in just a sec," Chikage chuckled, rolling her eyes fondly at her son's antics.

The room fell silent as the detectives comforted their thief—Saguru by patting Kaito on the head, and Conan by lightly kicking the other brunette's foot under the table.

"So…how long have you two been dating?" the psychiatrist asked awkwardly to fill the silence.

Both regular-sized teens blushed when they realized that they were the ones being asked. They began to stutter, their gazes accidentally met, and they smiled, chuckling softly.

"We're not…" Saguru grinned, blushing madly.

"I see…" Hiro-san nodded with a smile. He said it as if he soon expected developments. "I'm sorry. I just assumed with the proximity at which you placed yourselves to each other and the ease with which you touched that…"

"Kaito is _my_ boyfriend," Conan declared, climbing into the other teen's lap and wrapping his arms around Kaito possessively.

Sakurai-san blinked, and Saguru scooted his chair away slightly, acknowledging defeat for now.

Thankfully, Chikage returned with dessert at that moment.

….

E^j^3

Mikau: Elephant! Actually, I think I used this one before. Oops. My brother was singing that old commercial jingle for Elefun the elephant randomly today. Anybody remember that? "Elefun the elephant see him blow! Butterflies everywhere! Watch them go!" Anybody? Anybody? No? Okay. Anyway, exciting news for all you KaiShin fans. You're going to like next chapter…well the first three-fourths, anyway. I'm keeping it really tame, but if you don't know how babies are made, you'll probably be confused. That's all I'm saying. I'll try to get it out by next Thursday.

In other news, a lot of my friends role play, and they're always talking about how much fun it is. I don't know much about it, so I don't know if I'd be any good or not, but I stumbled upon a DC/MK one last night that's looking for a Hakuba. I was thinking about applying since everyone always says that I seem to really get him, but I've also been told that my Hakuba is a lot different from anyone else's, so I'm not sure if I'd be good or not. I don't know. What should I do? I'll think about it. Well, take care, and thanks for reading!


	45. Love and Its Consequences

Mikau: Hey guys! Happy Thursday! Well, it's Thursday night for me, so it probably won't be Thursday when most of you guys read this, but happy Thursday anyway. Thank you so much to Raifuujin, ItsALifeToLiveIn, Aniki-xvi, icarusdg, Athina Dark-Angel of Death, MysteryConan, and Sweetest Writer for your reviews. Whenever I get in a slump I always go back and reread reviews to cheer me up/inspire me/give me an idea of what people have responded well to in the past. Your support is much appreciated, everyone. Just a few quick announcements. The second chapter of The Truth in the Subconscious was posted a few days ago, and the next chapter of Trapped in the Twilight is up now too. That one is about Hakuba trying to solve Kaito's murder while the magician's ghost tries to keep Hakuba from getting himself killed by the Organization. It's a little dark at times, but it has a lot of humorous moments too. Also, if you haven't already heard, I'm doing a poll on my profile page. I was thinking about making a forum, but I'm not sure what kind of forum you guys would be interested in. I'd appreciate your input. Now, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the kids at Teitan Elementary would wear school uniforms for consistency's sake. It's kind of weird that the elementary doesn't have a uniform when the high school does. Usually they keep that pretty consistent when two schools are related. The uniforms aren't always the same, but if one section has a uniform, the others tend to have one as well. Plus, it's a little strange that in the first couple hundred episodes or so, only Conan wears a uniform to school. I'm surprised no one's ever said anything to him.

…...

Love and Its Consequences

Kaito was so happy he was miserable.

He sighed—a mix of contentment and remorse—as he kissed Conan on the forehead, gently nuzzling his soft chocolate hair.

They were snuggling on the couch, watching William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, lazily nibbling at each other whenever the desire to do so arose.

Kaito had been falling for a while, but now he knew for sure—he was in love with Kudo Shinichi.

Sure, there was still a lot of it that was lust, but he'd reasoned out that lust was a part of being in love too. And how could he not love Shinichi? Shinichi had always been patient and kind and loving and all-in-all amazing.

The only problem was that Saguru was all of those things too, and Kaito felt absolutely disgusted with himself.

How could he be in love with two different people? How could he even consider seducing Saguru while continuing to string Shinichi along? Why was he such a terrible person?

It was hard to keep from slipping into depression when his other two personalities were only echoing his own thoughts.

No1 wailed incessantly for 2.0 to drop Shinichi and go for Saguru while Kid snarled at 2.0 to keep the hell away from his friend.

Love sucked.

"You're worried about something?" Conan mumbled, chewing on Kaito's earlobe.

"Yeah. I'm worried about hurting you," Kaito replied, shivering in pleasure as those sharp little teeth kneaded at his skin.

"You mean physically? You're always so careful with me. I'm not made of glass, you know, Kai-chan. You could stand to be a little rougher." At that the little incubus smirked and crushed his lips against Kaito's. "Or do you mean emotionally?" he questioned when they broke for air. "Are you _planning_ to do something that would hurt me emotionally?"

"I'm afraid that…I kind of…have a thing for…"

"Hakuba?" Conan tensed. The previous week he'd become sort of…fond of the other detective, but now his previous feeling of disdain was coming back with a vengeance. "I told you that it's just because of stress and hormones. Don't worry about it." The detective leaned in to steal the thief's lips again.

Kaito pulled back. "Shinichi, I don't think that's it. I think I'm in love with him."

The former teen froze.

That was it. The blonde was going down.

Shinichi no longer cared that it could possibly be considered playing dirty; there was no time left to sit around and wait. He'd put his plan into action and assure that he came out on top. He _couldn't_ lose Kaito.

No1 let out a victory cry while Kid snorted and made his desire to kick 2.0 known.

"I mean…I…" Kaito fumbled for the right words.

"Don't worry about it," Conan insisted, forcing the younger teen's lips to his own. "This Friday, come to my house at four. I have a feeling that once we can _really_ be together again, all your doubts will fade away. Okay?" Conan smiled, nipping Kaito's bottom lip.

"'Kay," the magician easily acquiesced. "I'm excited to see you again."

"I'm excited to be me for you again," the shrunken teen whispered. "But, man, am I glad that you finally got over that feeling-like-a-pedophile-doing-things-when-I'm-Conan thing."

"Not completely," Kaito confessed. "But it's a lot better now. It doesn't freak me out to do this." The taller of the two gently touched his lips to the smaller boy's.

"It's a start," Conan chuckled, nipping the underside of Kaito's jaw.

000

Kaito didn't know why the heck he was so nervous.

Maybe it was because he was about to see his boyfriend—yes, he'd finally admitted it to himself and his fuzzy white llama, but he'd yet to make it official with Shinichi—_really_ see his boyfriend for the first time in a month and a half.

It could also be because while he loved his boyfriend madly—or at least lusted after his boyfriend madly…truth be told, there was more lust than love, but he was working on it. Give him a break—he also loved another man almost as much—though his relationship with Saguru was a little more subtle than his I-want-to-rip-your-clothes-off, suck-your-face-off relationship with Shinichi. Though, he had to admit, there were moments when he felt that way towards Guru as well, but…

Perhaps it was the prospect of seeing Shinichi and instantaneously forgetting that Saguru existed that scared him. On the other hand, it might be the thought of seeing Shinichi and _not_ instantaneously forgetting that Saguru existed that had him worried.

Whatever it was, it was pointless now because he was standing at the door to the Kudo mansion, and it was time to go inside and face his fears. After all, his only other option was stand outside and freeze vital parts of his anatomy off.

He knocked.

Shinichi answered the door.

Kaito _momentarily_ forgot that Saguru existed as his boyfriend—note to self, inform Shinichi that we're officially in a committed, monogamous relationship—took him in his arms and kissed him silly.

"Hey," the detective sighed, eyes shining with absolute adoration.

"Hey," Kaito chuckled, deliriously happy. "Good to see you again, Shin-chan."

"Good to be seen, Kai-chan," the taller teen purred, not moving his arm from its place around Kaito's waist as he escorted his guest to the living room.

Kaito blinked.

The curtains were closed, the lights dimmed, and scented candles were placed about the room. Soft music was playing in the background, and a variety of snacks were laid out on the table—fruit, cheese, bread, _chocolate_.

"Want something to eat?" Shinichi asked in a sultry tone as he guided Kaito over to the couch and slid the magician's coat off, folding it neatly and placing it over the arm of the couch.

"Don't mind if I do," Kaito trilled, going straight for the chocolate.

"I'll feed you," the taller boy announced, taking the piece of milky goodness from his intended. "Stick out your tongue."

"What? Is this some kind of kinky foreplay, Shin-chan?" the magician laughed, complying anyway.

"Only if you want it to be." The host shrugged, pressing the sweet to Kaito's wicked tongue. "Feed me a grape?"

Kaito just chuckled, picking out a choice grape to feed his boyfriend—boyfriend; just thinking the word made him feel giddy.

Shinichi sucked the grape from Kaito's fingers, getting quite a bit of the digits along with the grape. He smirked as he swallowed, reaching out to feed Kaito another piece of chocolate. "You know, in some cultures, chocolate is thought to be a powerful aphrodisiac."

Kaito swallowed hard. "I don't need any."

"I missed you so much," the older brunette whispered, leaning in to kiss his eager guest.

And this is where things got a little blurry for Kaito.

Shinichi had never been so forward, so aggressive before. Sure, he'd always been passionate when they'd been affectionate, but this…this…Kaito had no words for the animalistic way in which he was being kissed, caressed…maybe a little groped too, but he really didn't care.

The little monster certainly didn't mind.

However, the magician's brain—the one above his waist—started functioning again when he realized that his shirt had gone missing, and he was now lying beneath Shinichi on the couch.

"Wait!" it shouted at him because No1 was too busy pouting and whining and Kid was preoccupied with moaning in pleasure. "What the hell are you doing?! Stop this now before it's too late! What about waiting until you were sure you loved him as much as he loves you? What about your feelings for Saguru?! Stop and think this through!"

His brain changed its mind when Shinichi started playing with one of his nipples with his teeth while the detective's hand amused the other one.

"Never mind. Carry on," his brain informed him.

And so he did.

Besides, this was only making him love Shinichi even more. Real, true, selfless, everlasting love would come later. They were teenagers after all; Shinichi was taking things too seriously. Kaito would fall head over heels in love later. Lust now.

No1 called out for Saguru, but 2.0 ignored him.

Kaito reasoned that Guru already had someone he was interested in, and breaking away from Shinichi to pursue the blonde would not get him laid faster than his present relationship. And that was what was most important at the moment.

"Kai-to?" Shinichi gasped, gazing down at his love with pupils the size of buttons.

"Hn?" Kaito wasn't really up to forming coherent sentences at that point. He was more concerned with that mouth finding its way back to his than what it had to say.

"Wanna go upstairs? To my bedroom?" the detective proposed, knowing it was wrong to entrap Kaito in a relationship this way, but Shinichi would not lose to Hakuba. Kaito was his everything.

"Yes," the lust-crazed brunette got out clearly.

And so the candles were quickly extinguished, and the teenagers hurriedly ascended the stairwell.

They landed on the bed in a twist of limbs, and Shinichi took the lead from there, grabbing supplies from his nightstand and giving Kaito instructions.

The younger boy was content to let his boyfriend take control this first time. Kaito honestly had no idea what he was doing, and he didn't want to hurt Shinichi, so he made a mental note to study for the next time when he would take the lead.

And then his memories got a little hazier.

There was pain.

He remembered the pain there had been at first.

Litanies of "I love you" to which he couldn't even choke out a reply.

No1 was screaming, crying, shrieking, but 2.0 ignored him, too busy with the immense pain to care about his other self's objections.

And then the pain went away—or at least it seemed to. If it were still there, he no longer noticed it—and all he felt was pleasure like bright starbursts.

The second or third time was probably the best.

They'd been amateurs the first time—not to say that it had been bad by any stretch of the word. More like unpolished.

After a much-needed break, they'd tried again, incorporating some new moves.

Then they'd watched the sunset and given it another go.

The fourth and fifth attempts never fully played out. They were both exhausted at that point, and despite being healthy teenage boys, their attempts dissipated into rolling around in the sheets like kittens in puppy love.

And then there was sleep…interrupted by Conan's f-ing watch going off.

"Just stay," Kaito groaned, snuggling closer to his lover. "You're not wearing any clothes to fall off of you, and I've already seen everything anyway. I'm bigger than you in either body, so it's not like it matters."

"Can't, Love," Shinichi whispered "I'd give anything to spend the night with you, but I have to get back to the Professor's."

"Shin-chan," Kaito whined, grabbing his boyfriend's wrist in protest as Shinichi got up.

"I love you, Kai-chan," the detective replied, pressing his lips to his beloved's once more before going in search of clothes. "You can stay here as long as you like. I'll clean up later, so don't worry about it. Sleep well, my darling. I'll call you in the morning."

"Night, night, Shin-chan," Kaito grumbled, too tired to protest any further before he fell back asleep.

000

It was about an hour later when Kaito woke up, sore and cold and sticky. It took a moment for him to process where he was, what he was doing there, and where the hell his clothes had gotten to.

The first two came back to him quickly. The third was a little…ah. There his pants and boxers were on the floor.

He blinked.

They were a little…dirty.

He flicked on the light and rolled out of bed. At least he tried to roll out of bed—he was a little stiff, and his body hurt like hell. It was a little difficult to do such a graceful thing as roll.

He made his way to the shower first, only making a brief stop to pick up a towel.

He froze when he caught sight of himself in the mirror—hair completely disheveled (more so than usual), entire body covered in hickeys, and lips red and puffy. He looked as if he had been thoroughly screwed.

For the first time, he felt ashamed.

It hadn't seemed like a big deal at the time—he blamed the stupid little monster for that—but looking at himself in the mirror, he felt dirty.

What if Mom or Aoko or Saguru saw him looking the way he did? What would he say to them? How would he explain? Would they be disgusted? Would they think he was a slut?

He looked like a slut.

Anyone who looked at him could tell what he'd been doing.

It had seemed completely fine when Shin-chan was there telling him how much he loved him, but now…now that he was alone with only Kid's contented sighs and No1's cries of rape…now losing his virginity didn't seem like such a desirable thing after all.

He stepped into the shower and attempted to wash away the filth—both actual and imagined.

It didn't help. He was marked. There was no way that he could hide all of those hickeys without his heavy-duty makeup kit, and even if he got Shinichi's scent off of his skin, it would only be replaced by the smell of Shinichi's shampoo and body wash.

He'd have to borrow Shinichi's clothes—the style of which was completely different from anything Kaito would wear, so everyone would know at a glance that they weren't his own. It was going to be a long walk of shame back to Ekoda.

If he could even make it back there walking. His body was protesting movement at the moment. He'd be limping home.

Kaito sighed, curling up in a ball and letting the showerhead pelt his poor skin.

But it'd be okay, right? Right. I mean, he and Shinichi were official. It was normal for official couples to sleep together. They'd be doing it for the rest of their lives, right? There wasn't anything to worry about. Sure, Shinichi wasn't with him right that very second, but they'd be back together soon. Maybe then he'd feel less like a whore and more like a girlfriend…boyfriend…whatever. After all, Shinichi loved him.

Kaito blinked.

Right?

_Right?_

Shinichi wouldn't lie. He loved Kaito.

Suddenly the brunette remembered a conversation that he had had with Saguru about people only thinking that they were in love.

There had been another they'd had about rebound relationships never working.

Kaito blinked.

Did Shinichi _really_ love him, or had Kaito just been a convenient rebound from Ran—the woman Shinichi had loved his entire life?

He could have hit his head against the floor tiles.

He was a rebound.

Shinichi had admitted it himself; it had only just sunk in that he could no longer be Kudo Shinichi for Ran when Shin-chan had fallen for Kaito.

"Idiot," Kaito whimpered, thunking his head against the shower wall.

Truly he was an idiot for not realizing that a man who had been in love with a _woman_ since _birth_ had suddenly forgotten all about said woman and switched sexual orientations when he'd 'fallen' for Kaito.

He turned the shower off and got out, wrapping himself in the towel and going to search for clothing. He called Jii-chan and requested a ride and some clothes of his own.

When the old man arrived, he fussed over Kaito, demanding to know what his young master was doing all the way out in Beika without any clothes.

Kaito changed, climbed into the backseat of the car, and lied down. "I don't want to talk about it, Jii-chan. Besides, I bet you can guess what happened. Could you take me to this address?"

Jii had been trying not to see the hickeys. He nodded and drove off. "Yes, Young Master."

…

\./

[^.^]

Mikau: It's a TV set! With a face! At least it's supposed to be. Okay, so nobody kill me. I promise to resolve all matters promptly…next week Thursday-ish. Thursdays have become a good day for me to post recently, so I'll try to get you the next chapter around then. On a side note, I had to go down to my grandma and grandpa's with my mom today. I ended up sitting on the couch with Grandma and working on my quilt. (I'm not really a quilter; this is going to be my first one. I started making costumes last year with my mom, and this year I decided I wanted to learn to quilt.) I'm used to using a machine to sew, so I'm not really used to threading a needle, tying knots, and doing it all by hand. We joked about it, and Grandma teased me, saying that I could probably make a baby-sized quilt if I kept at it for a few months. I was there for about two hours, and we talked about all kinds of things like her family, growing up on a farm, how she picked my mom's name, where she used to work, how she met Grandpa, etc. It was really nice. I learned a whole lot about her, and I was glad we got the opportunity to talk. My challenge of the day for you guys is to talk to someone older than you. Ask a whole bunch of questions and see what you learn. Sorry for talking so much. Take care everyone, and thanks for reading!


	46. Love is Patient, Love is Kind

Mikau: Hi everybody! I'm exhausted; how are you? Well, the new chapter of The Cost of Being Considerate is up, but I didn't get the Trapped in the Twilight chapter done for today. I kind of put it on the back burner since it's the least popular of my on-going stories right now. Sorry to you guys that were looking forward to it (basically Raifuujin); I'll try to get it up in the next few days, but I have work tomorrow, my friend from preschool is getting married on Saturday, and I'm doing a charity walk on Sunday, so it might be Monday before it's posted. That being said, a huge thanks to Raifuujin, Sweetest Writer, icarusdg, Aniki-xvi, foreverandeveralone, Athina Dark-Angel of Death, Mai-chan63, and perfectly flawed woman for your feedback. I really appreciate it guys. Now, on with the show! (Nobody get mad at me until you've read the whole chapter. I swear everything's going to be okay, so no death threats, people.)

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the suspenders never would have happened. I don't care if they are a useful gadget. Conan, Darling, you look like a complete and total nerd! That kid is going to get bullied with his dorky bowtie, oversized glasses, and goofy clothes.

…

Love is Patient, Love is Kind

Hakuba had been working on a cold case when a light, hesitant knock came at his balcony door.

It was so faint that he almost missed it.

"Kaito?" The detective blinked a few times when he saw his friend standing awkwardly on his balcony.

The magician looked up, and those beautiful purple eyes were so full of hurt that it sent a jolt of pain through Saguru's body. Kaito's gaze dropped, and he opened his mouth to speak, but only a choked wail came out. He broke into tears, turning away in shame.

"Get in here," Saguru commanded, snatching his thief by the arm and pulling him inside. "What's happened now?"

Kaito whimpered, turning to leave, but Saguru's grip was too strong.

"Is this about Kudo?" Saguru's inquiry only led to the whimpers becoming sobs, so he decided to shut up and let Kaito talk when he was ready. In the meantime, Saguru pulled his love into his arms, holding Kaito tight.

The little brunette struggled to get away.

"Am I hurting you?" the blonde asked, loosening his hold slightly.

Kaito shook his head.

"Then hold still and cry, okay? Tell me why you don't want me to hold you later." Saguru held Kaito closer, running his hands up and down the smaller boy's back, threading his fingers through that luscious chocolate hair…that smelled like cinnamon.

Hakuba made a mental note to kill Kudo.

Once Kaito had calmed down, he muttered, "Sorry, Guru," and collapsed onto the couch, leaving Saguru to kneel next to him.

"What's going on, Kai? Do you want to talk? You don't have to." The English gentleman tried to be patient when it was killing him, not knowing what Kudo had done to hurt his darling this time.

"I don't think that Shinichi is actually in love with me. He only thinks he is to help him get over Ran-san," Kaito mumbled into the couch cushions, still trembling. "I'm just a rebound."

Sodding Kudo.

Hakuba sighed, fed-up with the other detective. "You know what, Kai? Forget about him. Things are too complicated between the two of you. With his body like that, it's illegal for the two of you to be together, and whenever he is his proper size, he always makes you do things that you end up regretting and calling yourself bad names for. As your friend, I'm sick of seeing you like this. He's no good for you, so cut him loose. Besides, by your own admission, you don't love him. All you have with him is lust, and it's not like you're committed to him. I mean, it's not like you've slept with him. The necking you two have done hardly constitutes a relationship, so just tell him to sod off already. Find someone else and be happy, Kai. It's what you deserve."

Kaito unexpectedly burst into tears.

Saguru sighed. "Kai, I'm sorry, but that's what I really think is best for you. I mean, I didn't say anything that wasn't true. As much as he makes you happy, he makes you equally miserable, and it's time to end it."

"You did," the brunette whimpered.

"I…did what?" the detective impatiently waited patiently.

"Said something that wasn't true." The trembling got worse.

"And what was that?" Patience was running thin.

"One, I do l-love Shinichi. I know that now."

"Okay," Saguru mumbled, stroking Kaito's back as the other boy cried and shook. "And?"

"Two, I…Shinichi and I…today…we…" and the magician choked, breaking down in a fit of tears again.

"You didn't," the Brit hissed before adding some very rude words and phrases after it in his other mother tongue.

"I didn't mean to!" Kaito cried. "But Kid begged me to, and I didn't really think about the consequences of my actions because I'm a dirty slut who can't control his own hormones, and Shinichi was really romantic, and when he started kissing me my brain turned to goo, and before I knew it we were in bed together, and I liked it, I really did, but I didn't think about what I had done and what it meant until afterwards, and I started feeling really stupid and guilty because I _know_ Shinichi's not over Ran, so how could he really be in love with me, and I'm such a gluttonous whore because even though I'm with Shinichi, I still have feelings for y—oh god!"

Hakuba sat there in silence as his beloved blathered on.

It felt like he had a sucking chest wound. It hurt so much, and he couldn't breathe. It hurt too because he didn't even have enough time to process his grief.

He didn't know what this development between Kudo and Kaito meant in relation to his chances with the brunette.

Did he even still want Kaito?

Honestly he felt rather betrayed. Part of him wanted to call the boy a slut and toss him out so that he could lament the loss of his first and last love in peace.

The rest of him wanted nothing more than to take Kaito into his arms and kiss the poor, broken teen better.

He _did_ love Kaito…ever so much, and he really didn't have much time as the little brunette went on and on, vomiting words.

The verdict: think later to determine course of action, comfort sobbing idiot now.

"Kaito, it's okay," the blonde cooed, rubbing his friend's back.

The magician didn't seem to hear him.

"Kaito, listen to me," he tried again.

There was no response.

"Kai, calm down and listen to me before I slap you, you twit," the Englishman snapped.

That did the trick.

Startled, the violet-eyed boy ceased creation of his miniature flood and looked up at his best friend.

"It's okay," Saguru cajoled, wiping away tears gently with his thumb. "You made a mistake. It happens. Everyone makes mistakes, and then they get on with their lives, apologizing where it's due and endeavoring not to make the same mistake again.

"Now, have you talked with Kudo about this rebound nonsense?"

"N-No," Kaito muttered, dropping his gaze from those piercing amber eyes.

"Then I would suggest talking with him first about your insecurities and possible misconceptions before you decide that he's using you." Hakuba took a deep breath and closed his eyes, silently encouraging himself to be the bigger man. He bit his lip and then said, "Kai, you'll have to decide for yourself, but I can personally assure you that his feelings for you are genuine. That night that you were…sh-shot…I asked him what he would do if you…he said that he'd die alone. You're the only one he's interested in, Kaito. He loves you. Don't be afraid to accept that love; just be happy, okay?"

The brown-haired boy blinked. "He…really does love me?"

"Yes," Saguru sighed, feeling his heart break all over again.

The room went silent, and Kaito just nodded.

"Well, I have some work to attend to, so if you'll excuse me…" the detective trailed off, getting up to go back to his desk.

"S-Saguru!" Kaito caught his pant leg, too sore to move much more than that.

"Yes?" The blonde didn't turn around. He was doing his best to keep it together in front of the thief that would never be his.

"I…Before Shinichi and I become official, I…There's this little matter that still…" Kaito needed to tell him. He couldn't keep his feelings from Saguru any longer despite the horrific timing. Before things went any further with Shinichi, he had to know where he stood with the other detective. "I wanted to ask you if…" He choked. "Do I still have to talk to Shinichi about my insecurities and misconceptions and all that, if you're sure that he's actually in love with me?"

"It is advisable. You shouldn't keep things from the people most important to you." Hakuba felt like a hypocrite, but there wasn't much to do about it now. He had lost.

"That's not actually what I wanted to say," Kaito tried again, still gripping the Brit's slacks. "I wanted to tell you that I…I…" He faltered again. "I wanted to ask you what I should say to him. He said he'd call tomorrow."

Kaito sighed.

Saguru bit his lip and muttered, "Kai, just tell him whatever you tell the other guys that you've slept with."

The smaller teen stiffened, losing his grip on the trousers. "E-Excuse me?"

"You know. The men you've slept with before," Saguru replied levelly. "Didn't you sleep with any men when you were rebounding from Aoko?"

"I've never slept with a man!" Kaito shrieked, slowly stumbling to his feet. "I mean…before tonight! I've never slept with one guy, much less the two or more that you are implying to come up with the plural 'men'!"

"S-Sorry." Hakuba turned around, raising his hands in defense. "Since you said that you got off on seducing other men at the ball a few months ago, I just assumed that you had slept with one or two. I didn't mean—"

"By using the plural, you'd assumed that I'd slept with at least two!" the shrill upper register of Kaito's voice continued indignantly.

"I apologize. It was my misinterpretation of your words. I beg your forgiveness, if we could please get back to your question," Saguru replied hurriedly as a dark blush spread across his cheeks. "I don't think sleeping with men is much different than sleeping with women, so if you just say what you usually say after sleeping with women, it should be…" he trailed off as the look of astonished disgust bloomed on Kaito's face.

"I've never slept with anyone!" Kaito squeaked so loud that Saguru was sure that the neighbors about a mile or two away had heard.

"Again, m-my mistake," Saguru stuttered. "You told me not two months ago that you'd have no problem sleeping with someone you didn't love as long as both parties were clear th—"

"—Just because I said that, doesn't mean it's actually true!" the shorter teen screeched, standing up to his full height despite the discomfort.

"I'm very, very sorry. I made my deductions based on false information. I didn't mean to—" the Brit desperately tried to make amends. It wouldn't do to lose Kaito as a friend as well as a possible paramour.

"—You thought that I was a slut!" the little spitfire howled, jabbing Saguru in the chest. "I can't believe you thought that I was a slut!"

"I didn't!" the detective tried to defend.

"Oh really?!" Another jab to the chest. "And just how many people did you think I'd slept with, Detective? Huh? Huh?"

Best to answer extremely conservatively. "Tw-Twelve?"

"Twelve?!" the magician exploded in rage. "You didn't just think I was a slut, you thought I was a whore! My best friend thought that I was a dirty whore!"

It was another five minutes before Saguru got a word in edgewise. In the meantime, he was grateful that his father wasn't home.

"Kaito, I didn't think that you were any such thing. Besides, it wouldn't matter to me even if you were a whore. I wouldn't care if you were—even though you are most definitely not!" he quickly added.

"Oh, you wouldn't care, would you?" the tirade went on. "And why's that? Did you think that maybe I'd sleep with you or something?"

And then another ten minutes of heated ranting passed with Saguru intermittently trying to defend himself against false accusations and pacify the other teen.

After he'd said "Kaito, I—" for the fifteenth time in as many minutes, Saguru took the magician by the shoulders, pulled him forward, and kissed him.

Saguru pulled back, and Kaito remained silently dazed.

The detective gasped and stepped away quickly. "Kaito, I am so terribly sorry. I didn't mean to…I just needed to stop you from talking, and…I never meant to…that was incredibly inconsiderate of me…after everything that you've been through today I never should have…please forgive me and forget that that ever happened." Saguru dropped into a deep bow at the waist, mentally cursing his bloody impulses.

Kaito just blinked for a solid minute before going to lie down over the arm of the couch. "W-Why did you do that?" he mumbled. "Was it just to shut me up, or do you…do you…"

"It doesn't matter. I'm terribly sorry, and I take it back. Please forget it," the blonde begged, gazing down at the ground and wishing for it to cave beneath him.

"No," Kaito insisted firmly. "Guru, do you…do you love me?"

Saguru looked up and met those devastatingly beautiful amethyst eyes. If he were going down, at least he'd go in flames. "Yes. Very much so, Kai."

"Oh," the brunette squeaked, face going a splendid shade of garnet. "I…I love you too, Guru." He winced, curling up into a ball. "God, like I have any right to say that to you after getting my brains screwed out by another guy!" He buried his face in the couch pillows, contemplating smothering himself.

Saguru sat down on the couch beside his love, weaving a hand through Kaito's hair. "I might forgive you, if you tell me that you love me again."

"Don't. This is wrong. Besides, I have Shinichi, and you have that guy you've had your eye on this whole year," Kaito whimpered, disgusted with himself.

"Kaito, I've only ever had eyes for you," Saguru was finally able to admit with a smile.

"It was…me?" the older teen lifted his head to reply, staring in astonishment.

Hakuba nodded, soft smile still in place.

Realization dawned on Kaito, and his guilt increased tenfold.

He hit his head steadily on the couch pillows. "I am an ass. A complete and total ass. All this time you've…and I've been…Why the hell didn't you say anything when all this time I've been going on about Shinichi this, Shinichi that? God, didn't that hurt you? I'm the worst friend in the history of the universe, and, for whatever little it means, I am so incredibly sorry."

"Unfortunately your apology means very little. Even though it wasn't done on purpose, you injured me a great deal, and no apology can ever repair that damage."

Kaito nodded, tears starting to slide silently down his cheeks. He had the feeling that he was going to lose a friend. "I understand."

"So, don't say 'sorry;' tell me that you love me," Saguru whispered, pleading.

"Guru, I don't deserve you. I can't," the brunette stated firmly. "I understand if you don't want to be friends any more, but we can't be together. You need to forget about me and find someone _way_ better. I'm no good for you."

"I don't care, Kaito," Saguru sighed. "Didn't I tell you before? It doesn't matter if you deserve me or not. I'm yours regardless. Forever. Kudo wasn't the only one prepared to die alone if you died that night. You're it, you moron. I love _you_. I'll never say those words to another person regardless of whether you leave me or not. I'd rather die alone and miserable than go through the pain of falling in love again…. But, don't let that influence your decision, please," he added hurriedly. "I don't want your pity. In fact, that might be even more painful."

It was quiet as Kaito considered his options and feelings on the matter.

Finally, all of the information could no longer be contained in his head, and his mouth began to leak. "Okay, so…I love you, but I love Shinichi too."

"Do you love either more?" Saguru inquired tentatively.

"No. Love in this case is absolute. I don't just like you guys, I'm in love with you two, and it's the same kind of love—the I-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you kind. It took me long enough to realize it, but…that's how I feel."

"I'm glad," the blonde chuckled, overjoyed to finally hear those words. "I feel the same way."

"But what the hell am I supposed to do about it? It's impossible to do anything without hurting at least two of us…unless…would you be opposed to a threesome?" Kaito bit his lip and glanced at his crush.

Saguru frowned.

"That's what I thought," the conflicted teen sighed. "God, why did I have to fall in love with the both of you? I'm such a—"

"—Don't finish that sentence because you're not," the detective growled.

Kaito nodded. "What should I do? What do you want me to do?"

Those indigo orbs met gold, and they stared at each other for a good minute, considering.

"You want us both, right?" Hakuba clarified.

Kaito nodded, looking like he was calling himself all manner of awful names in his head. "Because I'm selfish."

"Well, I am too," the larger teen stated with conviction. "I'm so selfish that I'm determined to have you no matter what I have to do. If I have to share you with that pipsqueak in order to have you, so be it."

Kaito blinked. "S-Share?"

"Share." Saguru nodded. "It's a far better alternative than the option of not having you at all."

"So…basically, I have permission to cheat on you with Shinichi?" The brunette was having trouble wrapping his mind around Saguru's suggestion.

"Technically, yes, but 'cheating' has such negative connotations. I don't want you to feel like you're doing something wrong."

"But I really would be doing something wrong," Kaito insisted.

"Kaito, it doesn't matter much because we won't be doing this 'sharing' thing for long anyway," the Brit announced smugly.

"We won't?" the shorter boy blinked.

"No. We won't because when I'm done with you, you'll be saying 'Kudo who?' If I can't sway your feelings, that's my own fault. I'm sure Kudo will do his best to win you from me as well. So? What do you think about being shared? It takes care of all of our problems, doesn't it?"

Kaito nodded. "If Shin-chan agrees. God, I don't know how I'm going to tell him."

"I'll tell him," the sleuth volunteered. "Don't worry. I'll be civil," Saguru replied to the look of suspicion on Kaito's face. "We've been competing for your affections for months; all I have to tell him is that the rules have changed. He's a reasonable man. He'll see that it's in his self-interest to cooperate."

"A lot of things make more sense now," Kaito sighed, more than a little bit worn out. "So…we're dating now?"

"Yes."

"So…did you want to sleep with me now too to even the score?" He was tired, but he could probably manage another round or two if Saguru did most of the work.

"Heavens no!" the detective snorted, causing the magician to cock his head to the side in confusion. "Kai, we just started dating not two minutes ago, and you already want me to take your clothes off? I think not! A gentleman would never!" he chuckled. "Kaito, I think you misunderstand the rules. My relationship with you is separate from your relationship with Kudo. What we do together has nothing to do with what you two do together…unless it affects your ability to perform certain physical acts with me on, say, the same day that you do things of a similar nature with him. No, I'm not interested in bedding you just yet—well, that's a bold-faced lie, but…what I'm saying is that our relationship is brand new, and we should be dating first."

Kaito nodded, even the tips of his ears turning pink. "So…we're starting from the very beginning?"

"Yes. That was the plan. Is that not satisfactory?" Hakuba held his breath.

"No…that's…that's good. It's for the best, right?" The magician leaned back into the couch, ignoring his protesting body as he smiled contentedly at his new boyfriend. "I love you, Guru."

"I love you too, Kai," Saguru whispered, having never been happier.

"Hey, this is gonna sound weird, but…could I spend the night? In a friends-having-a-sleepover kind of way, I mean. Mom's not home, and I…I don't want to be…you know…alone after…"

"Of course. It's only right that you should have someone to wake up next to the morning after. I certainly don't mind cleaning up after Kudo's negligence in this case." Then his brow furrowed. "But first, I must insist that you take a shower. You smell like _him_."

"Sure thing," Kaito chuckled, starting to think that things would be okay.

…

o(w.w)o

Mikau: This is the face my brother makes after I've said something completely idiotic. He usually shakes his head and mutters, "Idiot." under his breath. Anyway, I hope you liked it. I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say about this one. I'm kind of nervous. Well, goodnight!


	47. The Morning After(math)

Mikau: Hey there everybody! How have you been? I've been busy. One of my coworkers has been on vacation the past two weeks, so I've been getting double my normal hours. The money's nice, but it feels like all I do is get up, go to the gym, go to work, come home, sleep, and then do it all over again. I did get some work done on Trapped in the Twilight and The Cost of Being Considerate, though. TtT chapter three is up, and CBC should be posted by Monday at the latest. I know I've said that before, but I mean it this time! I'm off over the weekend, so I should be able to get it polished and posted. Anyway, thanks so much to Aniki-xvi, Sweetest Writer, foreverandeveralone, Athina Dark-Angel of Death, MysteryConan, Kaito Dark, Raifuujin, and Saiyuki729 who reviewed. I always appreciate it when you guys take the time to tell me what you think. Enjoy the new chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would fire the person who designs Ran's clothes. Everyone else has gotten a fashion upgrade throughout the progression of the series, so why not Ran? Why must she suffer? I don't really care one way or another for her, but…still. No one should have to wear half the stuff they've put her in. I'm really picky about clothes, though, so maybe it's just me.

….

The Morning After(math)

They had spent the rest of the evening chatting like usual and playing footsies under the covers.

It was nice to have the acceptance that Saguru provided. He was kind, understanding, and very attentive—frankly a saint in the magician's opinion.

Kaito couldn't comprehend how the detective could forgive him for all the pain he'd caused and overlook his involvement with Shinichi so easily. He had a feeling that Saguru was secretly holding a grudge, but the blonde seemed absolutely genuine.

However, Saguru refused to kiss Kaito, even though they were dating.

"You have to wait for the right moment, otherwise it cheapens the experience," the gentleman insisted. "I'm not going to start sucking your tonsils out just because I feel like it. Isn't that what got you and Kudo in trouble? We're going to take this slow, Kaito, because I love you madly, and I'm afraid of screwing this up. We'll have to balance our more primitive urges with plenty of communication and other activities."

"You sound like a marriage counselor," Kaito pouted, resting his head on Saguru's chest. "But you're right. I get it. You do what you think is best for us, and I'll follow your lead. No kissing, no groping, no love making…got it."

"We'll get there eventually," Saguru chuckled, wrapping an arm possessively around Kaito's hips. "I was thinking we'd start somewhere along the lines of holding hands."

"And then sleeping together?" the older teen asked hopefully. "I want you bad, Guru."

"I know. You're stabbing me in the side," the detective laughed. "All in good time, my dove," he cooed, nuzzling the magician's hair. "Haven't you had enough for the night?"

"I haven't had any of you yet," the imp whined.

"Roll over," Saguru commanded, half pushing Kaito so that he was facing out. He then wrapped his body around the brunette. He was secretly pleased to note that his contours matched up perfectly with the little magician. They fit together comfortably.

"Now _you're_ poking _me_," Kaito chuckled. "Are you sure you don't wanna? I mean, your body says 'yes.'" The instigator pushed back, adding pressure.

"N-Not today," Saguru had to bite his lip to keep from groaning. He pulled his hips back. "Go to sleep, Kai. Love you."

"Love you too, Guru."

They were awakened the next morning by Kaito's cell phone.

"Hello?" The magician mumbled groggily after finally locating the device.

"Sorry. Were you still asleep?" The smaller detective's voice woke him up instantly.

"S-Shin-chan. M-Morning." It was that same feeling of dread that struck him when he was cornered on a heist. There he was in bed with another man after having made love with Shinichi the night before.

"How are you feeling? Did you make it home okay last night? Is your body alright?" The pocket-sized sleuth fidgeted nervously on the other end, concern evident in his voice.

"I'm…I'm fine," Kaito stuttered, racked with guilt. "Don't worry…. Um…could I see you today for dinner or something? I want to see you…to talk with you."

"Yeah, okay. I want to see you too. When and where did you want to meet?" the teen currently inhabiting the body of a grade schooler inquired, eager to be reunited with his love.

"How about five o'clock at my house. Is takeout okay?" the magician inquired hesitantly.

"Sounds great. I can't wait to see you, Kai-chan…. I love you." Conan held his breath.

"I love you too, Shin-chan. See you then." Kaito quickly hung up before the conversation got any longer than necessary.

Despite being hung up upon, the miniature sleuth felt like he was on top of the world. Kaito loved him. Victory was his.

Kaito sighed, still feeling conflicted. "I love you, Guru."

"Not that I don't like hearing it, but that's not something I want you to say out of guilt," the detective mumbled into the brunette's neck, tightening his arms around Kaito's torso. "I'll pout if you only ever tell me that you love me out of guilt."

"Why do you even like me?" the magician muttered, still finding it hard to believe.

"Because you're wonderful," Saguru replied, kissing the tender flesh of his beloved's shoulder.

"I'm really not, you know." Kaito heaved a lead-lined sigh.

"You are to me, Dove," the younger teen whispered, giving his boyfriend a squeeze. "…Kaito?"

"Hmm?"

"What exactly made you fall in love with me?" the detective inquired hesitantly.

"Well…at first…your eyes," Kaito replied rolling over to face his blonde.

"My…eyes?" Hakuba blinked.

"Yeah. I just love that gorgeous gold color," the magician chuckled.

"Oh." The blonde gulped.

"What's the matter?" All of a sudden, Kaito was extremely perceptive when it came to the detective—if only he'd been that way several months ago, thought the boy in question. "Is that not a good answer? Do I sound shallow or something?"

"N-No. It's just that…" Saguru grabbed a contact case from his nightstand, sighing. He dabbed a little liquid on his finger and proceeded to remove a colored contact from his right eye. "See?"

"Oh." Kaito blinked.

Saguru's right eye was the prettiest shade of sky blue.

"Sorry to disappoint you," the younger teen mumbled. "I usually wear the gold contact while in Japan so that I don't look as much like the stereotypical blue-eyed, blonde foreigner. I wear a blue contact when I'm in England since blue eyes are more common than gold."

"Why are you apologizing? It's pretty." The brunette leaned in and kissed Saguru on the eyelid. "I don't know which one I like better. Why do you hide it?"

"Because it makes me look like a freak…well, even more of a freak," the Englishman mumbled, casting his eyes down as he blushed.

"You are NOT a freak. Where the hell'd you get that idea?" Kaito snorted, tilting the blonde's chin up.

"I was bullied a lot as a child…I'm still bullied a lot. People say it's creepy…the staff, my peers…I sometimes get the feeling that even my parents think that it's unnerving." Hakuba tried to look away, but Kaito caught him by the jaw and made him face the magician.

"Screw them. All of them. I think it's pretty," the shorter teen retorted. "And, if it makes you feel better, your eyes aren't the only thing I find attractive about you. I like your voice and your body and your hair—I'm starting to sound shallow, aren't I? I swear it's more than just your appearance. I like your mind too. And you have a great personality…I mean…most of the time. Frankly, I thought you sucked when I first met you, but now that I know the real you, I think you're pretty great, but…I love you, Saguru. All of you."

The Brit laughed, leaning in to give Kaito's forehead a kiss. "Thank you. Thank you for saying that."

"Just telling the truth." The brunette shrugged. "You know, Guru, I have to start being more honest—with you guys and myself. I'm going to talk to Shinichi about all of us…all five of us. I need to tell him, and you shouldn't have to be the one to talk to him about this sharing business. I've been selfish and irresponsible and just plain stupid. I'm going to start taking responsibility and trying to deserve you two. I know that I have to do better, if this is going to work."

Saguru nodded and pat his beloved on the head. "I'm glad. Let me know if you need help. It's hard to make big changes alone. Sometimes you need support."

"Can you tell me in the future if I hurt you?" the magician requested. "I never meant to cause you pain, and it kills me to know that I hurt you so much without even realizing it. Promise to tell me next time. I'm not very good at thinking about others."

"That's a lie. You always think about others. I used to _research_ you, you know. I saw all the times you comforted crying children and went out of your way to brighten someone's day. You're just a little dense at times. I know…and I'll do my best to say something in the future. I promise."

"Thanks, Guru," Kaito chuckled, mussing his friend's hair.

"No problem," Saguru replied, shaking his head. "You hungry?"

Kaito's stomach answered for him. The magician laughed sheepishly. "I really didn't have much of a dinner."

"You stay here. I'll be back with breakfast in a few." As he rolled out of bed, he muttered, "What kind of guy buggers you silly and doesn't even feed you?"

"There was food," Kaito explained, feeling the need to defend the absent detective. "Just…not a lot of it got eaten before we got distracted with other things."

"When I make love to you, there will be plenty of food afterwards," Saguru chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"When _you_ make love to _me_? Hey, just because I was on bottom once doesn't mean it'll happen again. We talked about this—when it comes to you and me, I'm on top," the brunette whined.

"Then start acting like the dominant partner," Hakuba snickered, giving Kaito's messy bedhead a good tussle. "Just kidding. Do as you wish; intercourse positions make no difference to me. I'll continue to spoil you rotten regardless. Just so you know, Kaito, I firmly intend to make good on all of my promises up until now."

"P-Promises?" The brunette stuttered, a faint blush adding a little color to his face.

"Yes. The 'if you were my boyfriend, I would do this and that because it's what you deserve' promises," the blonde gently reminded, eying the boy in his bed like a gourmet, five-course meal.

Kaito's face instantly went fuchsia like a light bulb turning on. "You mean you were serious about all that?"

"I meant every word," Saguru whispered seductively. "Now stay right there while I go and get your breakfast, Darling."

"Okay, Sweetheart," Kaito giggled, feeling like the luckiest man alive.

….

v(AwA)v

Mikau: I think it's some kind of little gremlin thing. The A's are the eyes and the w's the mouth. In other news, I finally got around to watching the new Conan movie. It was pretty good. I understood the majority of it without the subs, but I got lazy during the last twenty minutes and started peeking. I felt like a bit of a traitor, though, since the main cast was rooting for Tokyo in the soccer match, but I'm a Kansai girl through and through. Oh well. The new MK episode was amusing as well. Ah. I was just reminded that I need to watch the Conan drama and the live-action movies. Has anyone seen those yet? I'm reading the books, so I kind of don't want to watch because of spoilers. Anyway, have a great week guys. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you next Thursday!


	48. Coming Clean

Mikau: Hey guys! Good to see you again. Sorry that the update's a little late this week. The JET program application became available online about a week ago, and I've been scrambling to get everything together. The whole application packet is due in Washington on November twenty-first, so I wanted to get everything done early so I wasn't running around like a headless chicken later. Anyway, thank you so much to Mai-chan63, MysteryConan, Aniki-xvi, Sweetest Writer, and OO for reviewing.

Also, OO raised the question of the rating. I went back and looked at the guidelines again, and it says that T means suitable for thirteen and up. M is for sixteen and up, but I don't think there's any content in here that's _that_ graphic. There are chapters that contain more innuendo and implications than others, but I would feel comfortable letting someone thirteen years old read it. I mean, thirteen year-olds generally know how babies are made and all that stuff. Granted, some thirteen year-olds are more mature than others, but fourteen and fifteen year-olds are in high school, and there isn't anything in this fic that I feel is inappropriate for them. I think what I'll do is keep the rating the same but put warnings at the beginnings of the chapters that are a little more limey. What do you guys think? Am I wrong? I figure if people are still reading this far, they see it building and know what to expect. I doubt any young children we need to protect are still reading this, and it's never going to get any more graphic than innuendo and implications.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would have Hakuba wear suits more often. The inverness coat and the deerstalker look a little better in the newer episodes, but the suit from the detective koushien looked best.

….

Coming Clean

"Hey," the pint-sized detective greeted with a shy smile. He held up a bouquet of deep scarlet roses like a peace offering. "They reminded me of the ones you're always giving out, and I thought that I should get you something since, I mean…well, you're supposed to give the person you love a gift after the two of you…and, I mean, what says 'I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping with you,' better than roses and chocolates? May I come in now, or shall I continue blabbering on like an idiot a while longer for your amusement?"

"Chocolates first," Kaito insisted, taking the flowers and holding out the other hand for chocolate.

"Here you go." Conan grinned fondly at his mate, taking the box out of his backpack.

"Oh! Godiva!" the currently taller brunette squealed. "My man's got good taste!"

"You earned it," the grade schooler chuckled.

"You better believe I did!" the magician snorted. "How many other guys do you know who are able to bend in half? I don't know anyone else who could have gotten their legs up over your shoulders!"

"You're amazing, Kaito," the smaller teen professed, the glow of "stupid-in-love" shinning all over his face.

Kaito smiled, scolding himself for ever doubting Shinichi. "So are you. Come here." He moved the presents to his left hand and picked up his little love, positioning the boy on his hip.

They Eskimo kissed and chuckled as Kaito took them inside.

Conan blinked when he picked up a faint hint of pine scent. "You smell different today. Did you change body washes?"

The magician bit his lip as he set his boyfriend down at the kitchen table. "Don't freak on me, but I spent the night at Saguru's afterwards. He doesn't like the smell of your shampoo and stuff, so I used his. Nothing happened, though…well, actually…you know what? Let's start eating 'cause this is a long, long story." Kaito sat down next to his detective and started opening the cartons of Chinese—sweet and sour shrimp, pork fried rice, crab rangoon, vegetable dumplings, and, of course, fortune cookies.

"So…you spent the night with Hakuba?" Conan reiterated, somehow making it sound like high treason.

"He didn't touch me. That's what you want to know, right? No love making, no groping, no kissing, no nothing. He's a gentleman. Anyway, let me start from the beginning, please. Just hear me out from start to finish, and then you can decide if you still want me or not." Kaito mentally steeled himself as he picked up an eggplant dumpling.

"I'm listening," the former Detective of the East mumbled, picking at the rice.

"First I'd like to inform you that I'm an idiot. I know that you love me, but after you left last night, I kind of got a little worked up and forgot. I mean…that was my first time, and I was a little worried about why you just hadn't stuck around afterwards, thinking that maybe you didn't really love me after all…that maybe I was just a rebound from Ran-san, so—"

"—You're wrong!" the chibi shouted, standing up on his chair and slamming his palms down on the table. "Kaito, I love you more than anything! Sure, I'm not still completely over Ran, but you have to realize that I've been in love with her my entire life! It's just like you and Aoko-san. Sure, I still have leftover feelings for Ran, but I'm _in love_ with YOU! I swear that you're the only one for me!"

"Calm down," Kaito chuckled, giving the child's head a pat. "I know. Saguru told me about what you said that night that I was shot. He personally assured me that your love for me was genuine."

"H-He did? Hakuba did?" Conan blinked, absolutely floored. "Why would he do that?"

Kaito shrugged. "Because he loves me…and he's a masochist."

"He told you?!" The older teen's mouth fell open.

The magician chuckled, reaching for another crab rangoon. "Well, the masochist bit is just an extrapolation of his behavior in the past, but…sorry, yeah. It all kind of came out in the wash last night when I went over there. I didn't want to be alone, and Mom's off on a business trip, so Saguru was the logical choice, like always…. He's a really great friend, you know. I don't know anyone else who would give objective romantic advice to their own crush."

Kaito sighed, moving some sweet and sour shrimp from the carton to his plate. "I've been horrible to him. God, I've hurt him so much, and yet he still loves me. He's either a saint or a mental case. I'll have to do something to make it up to him…but anyway, so, I went over to Guru's. He told me how stupid I was being and how much you love me, but…we got into an argument where I was just shouting at him for, like, half an hour until he just grabbed me and kissed me. He apologized and tried to talk his way out of it—I think he didn't want to put anything else on my mental plate—but I finally got it out of him that he's been in love with me for a long time."

Conan nodded, eyes lowering to stare at the half-eaten dumpling on his plate. "So…what did you tell him?"

"The truth," Kaito gulped. "I love him too, but I don't deserve him. Unfortunately for the sake of keeping things simple, he doesn't care. He still wants me despite everything, and I want him too."

"You're sure?" The shrunken sleuth bit his lip.

Kaito nodded. "I've been keeping a secret from you, Shinichi. I've been keeping it from everyone for years. Not even my mom or Aoko knows…just Saguru…and now you. That secret is the reason why I can't choose between you and Guru. I can't choose because I'm not only making this decision for one person."

"What do you mean?" Conan's brow furrowed as he stared intently at his lover.

"I have a multiple personality disorder," the teen confessed.

Conan blinked, dropping a chopstick.

"There are three of us," 2.0 continued after a pause to let the information settle. "The first is the original Kaito from before Dad was murdered. That's Kaito No1. I'm the second Kaito that took over when No1 couldn't handle the grief. They call me Kaito 2.0, but you can just keep calling me 'Kaito.' The third is Kaitou Kid. He came to be a few years ago when we found out about Dad's secret night job."

"Then…which one of you did I…" the tiny tantei blinked, looking like his head was about to pop. "Which one of you am I…"

"Me," 2.0 responded. "I'm the main personality. No1 doesn't come out, and Kid only takes over from time to time. Kid was actually the one you first started talking to, but from the day I appeared before you in my true appearance, it's been me that you've been with. Kid came out to play from time to time, but I'm the one you're dating. I'm the one that you made love to. Well, the others feel everything that I do, but…I was the one in control at the time."

The chibi nodded. "So…I'm dating 2.0…. Could I…talk to Kid? Can you do that? Just…switch?"

"Sure." Kaito shrugged, and then it was Kid sitting at the table.

The thief smirked. "Hey there, Tantei-kun."

The detective blinked. "I always thought Kaito was just a great actor."

"Oh, he _is_," Kid chuckled, picking up where 2.0 had left off with the shrimp. "I'm a good actor too."

"Are you two very different?" Conan shifted uncomfortably.

"Not really." Kid shrugged. "I'm a total horndog, but that's only because I _need_ to be touched. However, I'm a gentleman—more logical and tactful. So, anyway, what I really want to know is, what was it like making love to Kai-chan? I know what it felt like for me, but I was kind of on the receiving end of things. What was it like to kiss him? Touch him? _Feel_ him? What I wouldn't give to have been able to see his face! You need to put mirrors on your ceiling so that I can watch."

Conan's mouth fell open.

"Oh, I'm in love with him, by the way," Kid informed the boy succinctly. "And with you by proxy. You see, No1 is just mad for Saguru, but Saguru's just my friend. I mean, I'd sleep with him because I'm a tactile person, but…Kaito's the one I want. Therefore, I want you because of the similarity of appearance. I mean, I like you a lot, Tantei-kun, don't get me wrong, but it's Kaito that I love. You excite me, though. Whenever you chase me, I—"

"—And that's quite enough of that," 2.0 snorted, cutting Kid off. He turned to Shinichi and blushed. "Please forget everything you just heard."

"I couldn't, even if I tried," the little gumshoe replied. "So…No1 likes Sagu—Hakuba. Kid prefers me, but you…who do you like, Kaito?"

The magician gulped and admitted, "I'm in love with both of you. It's a tie, right down the center, and it's not like tug-o-war, either. I need you both for different reasons. I love you both the same, and yet, I love you two differently. I can't choose between you."

Conan was silent for a good while as he concentrated, going over the facts.

Kid had seen that same look many a time when the little sleuth was solving a case.

Finally the chibi brunette sighed and looked up at Kaito. "Okay, so what are we going to do about this? It doesn't look like any one of us is going to fall out of love with any one of the others any time soon, so…what do we do?"

Kaito took a deep breath. "Saguru said that he was willing to share."

Conan raised an eyebrow at the magician-thief. "Share? Like…timeshare boyfriend or something like that?"

"I'm not exactly sure how it would work, but…would you be willing to let me love Saguru as well?" Kaito held his breath.

"I don't see how I can stop you, even though I'm less than thrilled about it," the former Heisei Holmes sighed, scratching his cheek. "We'll have to all meet up and discuss the terms of our relationships, but…are you sure that you love me, Kaito?"

"Shinichi, I've been sure about my feelings for both of you for about a week now. I've been head over heels for the both of you for a long time." Kaito smiled sweetly. "I swear to always call out the right name, and I'll always remember anniversaries, and I'll keep a calendar so that we'll be sure who the father is and—"

"—Okay, stop," Conan laughed. "You've cheered me up already." He took a breath and his smile faded into a serious line. "So…you and Sa—Hakuba are going to start sleeping together too now?"

"Not for a long time." Kaito shrugged. "It's not a matter of days or weeks. It could be months. Could be years, knowing Guru. We're just starting our relationship, so he wants to take it slow and make sure we go through all of the steps before we move up a level."

"He sounds boring," the other detective grunted. "Where's the spontaneity?"

"I prefer to think of it as romantic…stable. I'll come to you when I want wild, crazy, spur of the moment. I need both. Besides. That means that it'll be a while before my relationship with Guru gets physical. You have me all to yourself until then…my lips…my _body_…"

"Stop please," the former Kudo begged. "I already want you bad, Kai-chan. Don't make it worse when it'll be another couple weeks until I get to be with you again."

"We have to wait another couple weeks?!" Kaito groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Better than developing an immunity to even the temporary antidote and not being able to make love for the next couple _years_."

"Don't even say that!" the younger teen gasped in horror. "We'll make due for the next couple weeks. We'll just…we'll figure it out." It was silent for a moment as the gravity of the situation sunk in. "Shin-chan, will you spend the night with me tonight? To make up for not sticking around last night?"

"Of course," Conan pledged. "I'm really sorry, Kaito, but I have to go back to the Professor's to change back. Mad Scientist's orders. But I take it that things weren't so bad over at S—Hakuba's?"

"I understand," Kaito lied. "Yeah, things were pretty good, actually. I got breakfast in bed, and he fed me and pampered me and flattered me to death. He likes playing Prince Charming and spoiling me. And we already know how much I love playing Shindou Ella."

"Damn Brit, setting the bar high," Shin-chan pouted.

"Don't worry about it." Kaito shrugged it off, picking up the rice carton and scrapping the remainder out. "I can assure you that I didn't enjoy it half as much because it wasn't you."

"Liar," Conan snorted. "You loved it. You're just saying that to make me feel less guilty about not spoiling you myself."

"He didn't give me _chocolate_," the imp informed his little love.

…

($_$)

Mikau: The chapter of Trapped in the Twilight is up too, and the forum I was talking about should get under way by the end of November. In other news, the Halloween party I went to was a lot of fun. It was mostly meant for kids, and I knew that, but I went in costume to help out wherever they needed me. I ended up stationed at the entrance handing out candy and entering people into a drawing with a guy friend of mine. After the first hour, not a lot of people came, so he and I were just standing there talking for two hours. I discovered that we have a lot more in common than I'd previously thought. He asked where I'd gotten my costume, and I told him that my mom made it because I go to anime conventions. Then he said, "Oh, so you're a cosplayer?" I nearly died right then and there because he knew that word and pronounced it correctly. We also discovered that we share a love of many different shows, both Japanese and American. Best of all, he watched "Case Closed." I'm thinking this friendship has possibilities. Thanks for reading, guys! See you next time!


	49. Meeting of the Boyfriends

Mikau: Hey guys! I'm so exhausted right now. I've been going non-stop these past three days while still trying to get over my cold. Life's pretty good though. By the way, I'm overjoyed to announce that we've reached 250 reviews. I'd like to take this moment to thank everyone who has supported me thus far; as you likely already know, it means a great deal to me, and I appreciate your feedback immensely. Thanks as well to Athie Lestrade, MysteryConan, Aniki-xvi, Mai-chan63, Questionable Answers, Sirastar, Sweetest Writer, and kakashikrazy256 for reviewing. Well, enjoy the chapter! Trapped in the Twilight is up too.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would probably be caught up on the series. As it stands there are probably one hundred chapters and three hundred episodes I've missed. It's hard to catch up because I've tuned in here and there throughout the years, so I'm not sure which episodes and chapters I've missed. -.-

…

Meeting of the Boyfriends

After dinner the detective and the thief retired to the living room to watch Miyazaki and Disney movies while cuddling on the couch.

Conan curled up on Kaito's chest as the magician wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's body.

"So…you love me?" the smaller teen fished.

"We've been over this, Shin-chan," Kaito chuckled. "Yes, I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. How many times do I have to say it before you'll believe me?"

"Oh, I believe you," Conan sighed contentedly as he listened to the steady beat of his beloved's heart. "It hasn't quite sunken in yet, but I know that you're not lying. I just like hearing it."

"I love you, Kudo Shinichi," Kaito whispered, kissing his shorter boyfriend on the top of the head. "I'll say it as many times as you like."

"I…I don't want to share you with him, Kai-chan. I want you to be mine…just mine," the grade schooler pouted, sounding a great deal his physical age.

"I…I'm sorry," the magician mumbled, feeling lousy. "I…God, I don't deserve either of you. You should just break up with me, you know? Both of you. I shouldn't get to be happy." Kaito sat up, setting the detective down next to him. "This sharing thing was a bad idea. It's selfish and stupid and…let's just break up, okay?" The younger teen began to whimper.

"No!" Conan screeched, climbing his way into his boyfriend's lap. "No. I'll share, so…"

"It's not—" Kaito shook his head and squeezed his stand-in teddy bear tight to his chest. "I'm not saying that you have to share or else I'll break up with you, Shin-chan. It's not like that. I…I'm saying that I shouldn't be allowed to have either of you until I decide for sure on just one. You and Saguru are two of the best guys I've ever met. You two deserve someone a hell of a lot better than me—someone who's devoted completely to you and you alone. I'm clearly not that person, Shinichi. I shouldn't get to be with either of you until I can give myself fully to just one."

Conan sighed. "You know what? You're right. You may not deserve either of us, but we both want you. It's not always about _you_, Kaito," the shrunken sleuth snorted. "At this point in time, I don't care what you want. I want you, and I'm going to have you, dammit. I'm not going to sit around and twiddle my thumbs while you go back and forth between us. You'll never be able to make up your mind, and then we'll all end up old and lonely. You may not have earned us, but you've got us. Both of us. You'll have to deal with whatever guilt comes with that, but you're not going to get in the way of my happiness with your 'woe is me. I'm a terrible person' crap. I love you, you idiot, and you love me, so we're going to be together. Fool around with your blonde on your own time, but remember that you're mine too, and I'm not letting you walk away from _us_. Instead of whining, how about considering yourself blessed to love and be loved by two incredible men?"

Kaito blinked. Once. Twice. And then he burst out laughing. "You're right. You're absolutely right. Sorry," the magician whispered sheepishly, touching his lips reverently to his boyfriend's forehead. "Thanks for yelling at me, Shinichi."

The bespectacled boy shrugged, giving his idiot a kiss. "You're welcome. Sorry for getting angry. It's just…you're so dense sometimes."

"Meanie," the younger teen pouted, lying back down with the midget on his chest.

"It's the truth. For being so ingenious, you can sure be a ditz." Conan grinned evilly. "Or is it that Kid's the genius and you really are a moron?"

"Hey! You'll be sleeping on the couch at this rate, Mister," Kaito grumbled.

"You don't mean that," the tantei tot snorted. "You want me in your bed as much as I want to be there."

"Humph," Kaito replied, knowing that it was true. He nipped the little brunette on the ear.

Conan nipped back, and things quickly escalated into a tonsil hockey match.

Princess Mononoke continued on in the background, completely forgotten.

000

"Take off your shirt," Kaito commanded, stripping down to his boxers as they got ready for bed.

"W-Why do you want my shirt off?" Conan stuttered, gripping his garments like a life vest.

"You owe me for last night, and I want flesh-on-flesh cuddling. Kid has this thing about not getting touched enough, and I want to exchange body heat. Shirt off, Studmuffin," the taller of the two decreed.

"You're not seriously going to start calling me that, are you?" The detective grimaced, shrugging off his shirt.

"I might," the imp chuckled, lending a hand to speed up the disrobing process. "Oh, hey! Let's take a bath together!"

"A ba-bath?!" Conan gasped as Kaito stole his underwear and slung the little sleuth over his shoulder like a sack of loot.

"Yep. You can wash my back, and I can wash your hair. It'll be fun!" The magician giggled as he set about preparing the bath water.

The two of them thoroughly scrubbed clean before getting into the tub to soak. Kaito insisted upon personally washing Conan from head to toe. He messaged shampoo and conditioner gently into the older boy's scalp and carefully rinsed away the suds.

Conan, after arguing with his boyfriend for a solid five minutes, finally won the right to wash his own body.

"I've already touched it all before. What's the big deal?" the prankster snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Would you want me touching yours?" the detective made his rebuttal.

Kaito smirked.

Conan blushed. "I liked it better when you were the nervous, sexually conservative half of this couple."

The magician gave his miniature lover a sloppy kiss.

They soaked for about forty minutes, flicking droplets of water back and forth, blowing bubbles, and talking about nonsense.

Then they dried off (Kaito doing the drying for them both), donned their boxers, and got into bed.

"We need to keep doing stuff like that," Kaito whispered after the lights had been turned off. "Just spending time together being silly."

"Friendship _is_ just as important to a relationship as…copulation." Conan blushed. How come it was so much easier to talk about such matters when he was his regular size?

"I could go for some copulation right about now, though," Kaito snickered, licking the shell of Conan's ear. "How long do we have to wait before next time? Another month? God. I'm not gonna make it."

"You know…" The shrunken teen hesitated, afraid to ruin the moment.

"Hm?"

"I know before you said it made you feel like a pervert, but…I wouldn't mind…you know…" Conan was thankful for the darkness hiding his blush. "I know it's not exactly the same as making love, but…if it would help you out, I wouldn't mind…" he fibbed.

More than not minding, he wanted to. Shinichi wanted to hear that husky voice whimpering his name once more. He needed to see the weak, flushed face Kaito made while being sated. He needed something to reassure himself that while Kaito would be with the other detective, the magician was still Shinichi's.

"Okay," Kaito whispered hesitantly. "But…if it makes me feel like a pedo, we stop, okay?"

"Un!" Conan agreed, eagerly beginning his ministrations.

000

"Uuuuunn," Kaito groaned as his lover pulled the covers away. "It's cooooold."

"Because you're naked," Conan chuckled. "Get up, Sleepyhead. It's already nine o'clock."

"No. Come back to bed, Shin-chan," the younger brunette whined.

"Don't you want breakfast, Kai-chan?" the detective attempted to lure the elusive Kaito out of bed.

"No. I want you to come back to bed and do that thing with your tongue again," the healthy teenage boy pouted like an eight year-old.

"Which thing with my tongue was that?" the mini-tantei snickered, a self-satisfied smirk in place on his face as he climbed back up onto the bed.

"You know the one," Kaito returned, smiling innocently.

"Oh, you mean this one?" Conan leaned in and nearly gagged his boyfriend with his tongue.

Not that Kaito minded.

"No, the _other_ thing with your tongue," the mischief-maker moaned as his detective pulled away.

"Ooooh," the schoolboy teased. "No, you've had plenty of that. You see, last night I was feeling generous. If you want my attentions again, next time you'll have to earn it. I've been chasing after you this whole time. Time for you to chase me. How about you try courting me for a change?"

"Shin-chan!" The litany of whines and pleas continued.

There was some rolling around, but Conan finally got the magician out of bed without giving in to Kaito's demands.

"And I ask you, whatever happened to feeling like a pedophile, Kaito?" the gumshoe sniggered.

"I got over it when a certain part of my anatomy fell in love with your tongue," the taller teen grumbled as he washed up and got dressed.

"Let's go to a café or something for breakfast," Conan suggested. "Since neither one of us can cook."

"I could if I had to," Kaito informed his little love. "But breakfast out sounds good. I'll pay."

"You sure?" Conan blinked, looking absolutely adorable.

"Yeah," Kaito chuckled nervously. "Think of it as an advanced apology, 'cause afterwards I'm going to have Saguru come over to talk about rules and regulations for making this…this whatever we're doing…work."

"Oh." The former teen looked less than ecstatic.

000

Conan tried his hardest not to transform into a Tasmanian devil and claw Hakuba f-ing Saguru's pretty little golden eyes out as Kaito greeted the blonde at the door.

"Hey," Kaito purred, wrapping his arms around the taller detective's neck.

"Hey, Kai," Hakuba returned, an elated smile on his face as his arms circled the magician's waist.

They touched their foreheads together and shared an Eskimo kiss before slowly breaking away.

Conan made a low, guttural noise somewhere in the back of his throat.

To the younger sleuth, he sounded like a Chihuahua whose turf had been trespassed upon.

Kaito rolled his eyes, scooping up his smaller boyfriend while directing the other one into the living room. "Hush, Shin-chan," he ordered before kissing the boy silly.

Saguru tried not to see, but it was a little difficult…and very disturbing.

Kaito set Conan down on the sofa and directed Saguru to sit next to the shrimp. The man himself took an armchair across the coffee table from his two suitors. "Okay. Someone tell me what the hell we think we're doing."

"Nothing complicated," the Englishman assured. "You and Edo…Ku…Shin-chan will carry on with your relationship however you see fit. You and I will do the same. However, Kid is your jurisdiction…uh…just what the devil do you wish for me to call you, anyway?"

"Anything is fine. Maybe Edogawa-kun in public, Kudo in private?" the not-child proposed.

"Good. Thank you. Anyway, 2.0 is the only one we're sharing since I have no romantic interest in my friend, and No1 seems to dislike you immensely."

"Really?" Conan blinked.

"No romantic interest in me at all, Guru?" Kid whined.

The blonde chuckled, smiling at his friend. "None whatsoever. Hello, Kaitou."

"Hello, Guru." The thief smirked, giving the detective a flirtatious wink.

"Hey, why does No1 not like me, and why are you flirting with _my_ boyfriend?! You said that that one was mine!" the rugrat detective squealed.

"'Cause No1 likes Saguru." Kid shrugged, turning his attentions towards his boyfriend. "He's kind of mentally around your physical age, so he's a little too innocent and pure-hearted to understand things like loving more than one person. Guru's his knight in shining armor, and Kaito's feelings for _you_ are keeping those two from being together. No1's still hoping that true love will win out.

"Anyway, I'm flirting with Saguru because that's just the way that we roll." Kid smirked and changed the subject. "So…that thing with your tongue that Kaito likes so much…"

"Ahem," Kaito interrupted his roommate as soon as he saw where the conversation was headed. He mentally scolded Kid, _"You do not discuss our torrid make-out sessions with Shin-chan in front of Saguru." _"I'm going to get some tea…and coffee…and hot chocolate. I'll be right back, so please play nice," the magician improvised, beating a hasty retreat to the kitchen.

When he returned, mugs in hand, he almost dropped them in surprise. He wondered if he had accidentally stepped into an alternate dimension.

Saguru and Shinichi were sitting together on the couch laughing.

Kaito could do naught but stare.

The _hell_? They were just sitting there _laughing_ and talking about the latest season of the series Sherlock.

"The best part was when he put the sugar in Watson's tea to see if it was causing the hallucinations," Saguru chuckled, and it sent Conan rolling in laughter.

"No, it was the part when he was in the sheet at the palace!"

"He _would_ do that, too," Hakuba snorted.

"Oh, what did you think of the end?" Shinichi looked eagerly up at the blonde.

"God, it was heartbreaking. When Watson said, 'don't be dead,' I cried," the blonde confessed, looking like he was about to start crying again.

"Me too! And then you saw Holmes, and I started crying because I was so happy! They've just gotta make a third season!" Conan had never looked like such a child more than in that moment.

"Ahem," Kaito cleared his throat, raising an eyebrow at his boyfriends. "I leave for ten minutes, and suddenly you're best friends? What's up with that?"

"He likes Holmes too," the youngest-looking of the three replied innocently. "Anyone who likes Holmes can't be all bad, even if they are a home-wrecker."

"I agree," the actual youngest member of the love triangle returned. "Even though I find it absolutely despicable how he took advantage of your hormones and tricked you into sleeping with him despite the fact that your relationship was not ready for such a physical element."

Kaito nodded and passed out the drinks.

This relationship was going to take some very honed juggling skills. It was bound to be interesting.

….

_^,^_ "Hohoho"

Mikau: It's Akako! Because of the slant of the mouth, to me, this emoticon looks very pleased with itself. I can just imagine it laughing like Akako. Can you, or am I just nutters? Anyway, I think I might actually be going crazy. This Sunday I went to my church's chicken dinner. I'm a vegetarian, for those that don't know. I went because my guy friend said he'd be pleased if I showed up. Yeah, the same one I talked to at the Halloween party. Anyone else think I may be developing a crush? Well, I hope you guys liked the chapter. Hopefully I'll have the next one edited and up by next Thursday. Fingers crossed. Have a good week, guys!


	50. Vows of Sincerity

Mikau: Hello there! Good to see you all again. Did everyone that celebrates Thanksgiving have a good one? I got up at 4:30 AM to go with my church to a church downtown to serve breakfast to the community there. We fed about 150 people, and there were 100 volunteers there. Needless to say, there really wasn't enough work for all of us, so a good deal of the time I spent talking with some friends. I got to hang out with my crush and his sister. It was fun, but we were all sooo tired. In other news, many thanks to Mai-chan63, MysteryConan, Nightstalcer, Aniki-xvi, Sirastar, Sweetest Writer, Athie Lestrade, Athina Dark-Angel of Death, and patternleap for reviewing. I really do appreciate you guys; I wouldn't have made it to chapter fifty without you. Just a heads up, the Conan part of the chapter is a little more raunchy than usual, but it should be fine, so without further ado…

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I think I'd do an episode where Mouri has to solve a case on his own. It'd be interesting.

…

Vows of Sincerity

Monday morning came too soon, and Kaito found himself at school.

He went right up to his best friend and sat on top of her desk. "I have a secret."

Aoko blinked, tilting her head to the side. "Aoko's listening."

The magician glanced from side to side, making sure no one else was listening. "You were almost right. Except, I still wasn't sure if he really loved me or not even after he kissed me right on the lips. You can go ahead and say, 'I told you so,' though."

Aoko blinked, processing her friend's words.

A little light bulb turned on above her head.

"You and Hakuba-kun!?" she squealed, drawing the rest of the classroom's attention. "Aoko knew it! I told you so! I _told_ you so!"

"Geez, Aoko," Kaito snorted. "Not so loud. You're as noisy as a fire alarm."

"Humph," the inspector's daughter snorted right back at him but lowered her voice to a whisper. "So? Are you two together now? You like him too, don't you? Aoko's noticed the way you've been making eyes at him the past couple weeks."

"Yeah. I'm crazy about him, and we are together, but…it's a little complicated," Kaito sheepishly admitted.

"Because of that other guy you were seeing?" Aoko's sky blue eyes narrowed.

Kaito gulped, getting ready to be scolded. "_Am_ seeing. Present tense."

The little firecracker blinked and then exploded. "Kaito! That's despicable! You can't date two people at the same time! What's wrong with you?!"

"I know, I know, but just listen to me—"

"—No!" Aoko screamed, but then dropped her voice into an angry whisper. "Kaito, you can't treat Hakuba-kun like this. He really _loves_ you, and I won't let you play around with him."

"I'm not playing around," Kaito hissed, trying to explain.

"Then dump the other guy and only date Hakuba-kun," the inspector's daughter snorted.

"I can't!" Kaito sighed in exasperation.

"Why not?!" Aoko huffed.

"Because I love Shinichi. I really, really love him, and Saguru knows that. He was the one who suggested that they share me in the first place. I know it's not conventional, but…" Kaito bit his lip and looked nervously at his childhood friend.

Aoko frowned. "Aoko doesn't like it. Kaito should only have one boyfriend, and it should be Hakuba-kun."

Kaito was about to argue in his own defense, but his taller boyfriend walked into the classroom at that moment, effectively distracting him as the blonde came up to the pair.

"Good morning, Aoko-kun…Kai."

"Morning, Guru," the love-struck teen chuckled, making eyes at his beloved. "How'd you sleep?"

"A lot better without you hogging the covers," the detective teased, adding, "I missed you every second we were apart."

"Me too," Kaito cooed.

"Liar," Hakuba laughed. "You and Kudo hung out after the three of us had dinner together. I'm sure there were times while you were with Kudo that you didn't even spare me a thought."

"Don't be cruel," the brunette pouted.

"Kaito's the one who's cruel." Aoko jumped right back into the conversation, turning to the detective. "Hakuba-kun, you shouldn't allow him to run around like that! It's not fair!"

"Yes," Saguru sighed. "But it wouldn't be fair to Kudo to steal Kaito from him entirely; they were together first, after all, even if I was the first one to fall for Kaito." The blonde smiled and bowed. "Thank you very much for looking out for my well-being, Aoko-kun, but I can assure you that it is not necessary. Everything is just fine."

"You sure you're sure about this, Guru?" Kaito asked once more. "I still don't feel right about this myself."

Hakuba rolled his eyes and ruffled his boyfriend's hair. "Meet me out back by the old maple tree during lunch."

"Why?" The purple-eyed boy blinked.

"You'll see." The detective smirked, and Kaito made a mental note of how sexy smirking Saguru was.

000

"There's a legend that anyone who confesses under this tree will have a long and rewarding relationship," Saguru said, gazing up at the maple he was leaning against.

"I hadn't heard that rumor before," Kaito chuckled, hugging his coat closer as he shuffled on up to stand in front of his blonde. "So…what are we doing here?"

Saguru smiled shyly, a cute blush painting his cheeks. "Well…I was thinking that I never really confessed to you so much as had a confession rung out of me, so…I sort of wanted to do this properly, if you don't mind."

"Actually, I do," Kaito declared as he strode right up to the detective and pinned him up against the tree. He planted one palm flat against the rough bark and used the other to gently cup Saguru's cheek.

Kaito took a deep breath and began. "Hakuba Saguru, I haven't been able to get you out of my head for a month or so now. I love your eyes—both of them, even though I can't decide which color's my favorite. I could stare into those dreamy eyes of yours for eons.

"I love your lips," he whispered, ghosting his thumb over them. "They look so soft, and it drives me crazy whenever you chew on them. I can't wait until I'm allowed to nibble on them too; I could suck on them until we both ran out of air and passed out.

"I love your hair—the color, the texture. You don't know how many Asians would kill for hair like that. I just want to run my hands through and play with it.

"I love the way you look, the way you speak—everything—but most of all, I love _you_. I love you when you're moody, when you're sad, when you're angry, when you're goofy, and especially when you're happy, but…I love you, so…Hakuba Saguru, will you go out with me?"

Even the tips of Saguru's ears turned scarlet as he nodded and whispered, "Yes."

"Good!" Kaito chuckled leaning in and letting his weight rest on the taller teen. "May I kiss you?"

"I kind of wanted our first kiss to be…more…you know…special. Someplace romantic," Saguru mumbled, mind almost numb with overflowing happiness.

"Hmm," Kaito hummed in thought, absentmindedly nuzzling the detective's hair, neck, and face. "That's not the whole truth, is it? You're afraid to kiss me." Kaito ceased his attack, wrapping his arms around Saguru's waist and resting his head on the younger boy's chest.

"I…" Hakuba bit his lip and decided to be honest. "I've never kissed before, so I'm probably not very good at it…not like Kudo."

"I don't compare like that," the magician assured. "Besides, it'd be boring if you kissed like Shin-chan. I wanna find out what _your_ kiss is like, Saguru. Once we start kissing, I might think things like, 'This isn't as good as last time,' or 'This time is our best yet,' but it'll only be a 'personal best' type deal. I won't compare your kisses with Shin-chan's in a 'who's better?' kind of way. Same goes for love making, so don't stress out about it." Kaito placed a quick peck on the Brit's cheek and pulled back. "Okay?"

Saguru nodded, a little grin quickly spreading across his face. "That…helps, but I still want to take it slow with you. I'm also scared stiff of messing things up by going too fast."

"I'll respect your wishes," the brunette reluctantly agreed. "…but…just let things happen naturally, okay? I need spontaneity. I don't care if it's semi-structured spontaneity, but just don't make out timetables and stuff."

"Got it," Hakuba chuckled. "Thank you for understanding."

Kaito shrugged. "'S okay. I know you, and I know how your OCD works. Just…don't make me wait too long, and…don't think too hard about this. I get that you want it to be special, but it doesn't have to be too special. I mean, my first kiss was under my bed for Pete's sake, and it was still special because of who it was with."

Saguru blinked, and Kaito could just see the words "under my bed" going through his mind.

The imp chuckled, "Aoko, when we were eight," by way of explanation.

The detective nodded. After a moment of thought, he replied, "If you're so eager to kiss me, I suppose I could take you to this nice Italian place on Thursday. After dinner we could kiss by the fountain out by the—"

"—Pass," Kaito lightly snorted.

"You…don't like Italian?" Saguru hazarded a guess.

"No. I don't like you trying to fit our first kiss into a timeslot," the older teen huffed. "You can take me to the restaurant, but I'll decide when and where I kiss you. If we say we'll kiss out by the fountain, it'll just be awkward, and we'll both feel like we have to do it, even if the timing isn't right. I understand that you feel like everything has to be all special like a fairytale, even though I don't understand _why_, but forcing it won't turn out well."

Hakuba sighed but nodded anyway.

Kaito had a point.

"If it's any consolation, the location doesn't really matter much. Once you start kissing, you kind of lose sight of everything but the other person, anyway. You could make out with me in a janitor's closet, and it'd be just as special as if it were the top of the Eiffel Tower."

"I think I can do better than a janitor's closet," Saguru grumbled.

"Yeah, but the point is: _you don't have to_. 'Cause I'd love you anyway." With a quick peck on the cheek and the wink of an eye, Kaito was off, and he kept glancing back in a way that told Saguru that he wanted to be chased.

"Beginning to think someone has a fetish for being pursued," the half-Brit snorted, taking off after his boyfriend.

000

"I'm jealous," Conan pouted like an eight year-old, blowing bubbles into the chocolate milk. "Hakuba gets to spend all day with you, and then you go and hang out with him after school too. It's not fair!"

Kaito chuckled, shooing his smaller boyfriend away from his milk. "Blow bubbles in your own…coffee." Kaito blinked. "Hmm…guess coffee's not really conducive to bubble-blowing."

"Kaitooooo, I'm seriouuuuuus." The whining continued.

"Oh, my poor, sweet Shinigami-chan, what would you have me do? Transfer to Teitan Elementary? I can't help that we go to school together, but it's not like we're spending every single moment connected at the hip…. That's the expression, isn't it? Anyway, what I mean is that we're not hanging out and having fun all of the time. We're at _school_."

Shinichi tried so very hard to ignore Kaito's "joined at the hip" comment, but, in the end, he couldn't help but wish that _he_ could be connected to Kaito at the hip right that very moment. He didn't really even care that they were in a restaurant full of people.

Kaito was a habit-forming substance, and the Great Detective of the East needed a hit bad.

But, at the moment, the magician was going on about something, and the schoolyard sleuth thought it might be best to tune into the conversation.

Shinichi really _tried_ to pay attention, but Kaito himself was very distracting.

He had the top few buttons of his school uniform undone, and his collarbone was sticking out.

Hello, Collarbone.

Hello, Shinichi~ Why don't you come on over and suck on me? You remember what delightful noises Kaito makes when you suck on me, don't you?

Yes I do, Collarbone. Yes, I do.

"Is your mother home?" Conan asked, cutting off the tail end of Kaito's sentence.

The younger teen blinked. What did that have to do with film noir? "Uh…no. Not yet…. Why?"

"I was just thinking that it had been a while since I did that thing with my tongue that you like so much," the older boy commented flirtatiously.

Kaito blinked. Kaito liked the thing with Shinichi's tongue, but why was his boyfriend offering so suddenly and in such a direct manner? Normally the thing with the tongue was something Shinichi was rather embarrassed about.

"O-Oh?" the magician gulped, cheeks turning a lovely shade of cotton-candy-pink.

"Yeah." Conan nibbled on his bottom lip, eyeing the other teen hungrily.

Kaito was about to say "Hell yes" when something Saguru had said crossed his mind. "Shin-chan, maybe we should just talk and hang out. That's important in a relationship too."

Shinichi put on his best pouty face. "Whatever happened to the Kaito that was only ever interested in sucking my face off?"

The taller of the two looked to the side and mumbled, "He was a slut. _I'm_ your boyfriend, and _I'm_ interested in having a healthy, successful relationship. There's probably something to Guru's slow and steady nonsense."

"Yeah," the healthy teenage boy trapped in a grade schooler's body sighed. "Yeah, I know how we've talked about the imbalance between the physical and emotional parts of our relationship, but…can't we do the thing with the tongue and then talk about comic books or do a crossword puzzle or something?"

Kaito blinked yet again.

It was then that he realized that the proffered blow job had not been solely for _his_ benefit. "You…really wanna do this, don't you?"

Conan blushed, bashfully looking down at his sneakers. "Yes," he replied in a small voice.

"Why? I mean…I don't imagine it's much fun for _you_."

The pocket-sized detective's cheeks turned an even darker shade of red as he mumbled, "Physically, not really. I imagine it's a great deal more enjoyable for you, but…it's…it's something I can control. I don't have much power in this relationship, and I know that. If you left me, you'd still have Hakuba and probably be no worse off. You've got the upper hand here, Kaito."

"Shin-chan, I…" He hadn't thought of that before. "I don't…"

"This…" Conan continued when Kaito didn't. "This is something I can do to even the playing field a little bit. It gives me power over you, and I really like it. Even though I can't make pineapple upside-down cake like Hakuba f-ing Saguru, I can make you sweat and squirm and scream my name. I like being able to affect you like that."

"Shin-chan," Kaito gulped. "You know…a word puzzle after a roll in bed sounds really good right now. Then we need to talk about your insecurities, but…bed first."

000

"Take your clothes off too. Kid wants flesh on flesh snuggle time," Kaito whined lethargically as he curled up in the sheets of Shinichi's bed.

"Can I keep my boxers on?" Conan chuckled, wiping his mouth.

"No. Boxers off," the younger teen demanded much like a two year-old would.

"I can't refuse you anything," the shrunken teen laughed, discarding his clothing a little reluctantly.

"Glasses on." Kaito reached up to stop his lover as Conan moved to remove the spectacles. "They're sexy."

"Weirdo," the seemingly younger boy snorted as he was scooped up and brought to his beloved's chest.

"Yeah, yeah. It's _your_ fault; you've given me a fetish. Good thing Guru's got glasses too. I can't wait to role play school librarian and student with overdue books with him and those glasses," Kaito snickered, imagining his other love scowling, removing the glasses, and saying, "You're up to your eyeballs in fines, Mr. Kuroba."

"Don't talk about your boy toy when you're with me," Conan whined, playfully nipping his lover's earlobe.

"Sorry," Kaito whispered, nipping right back. "You know I'm crazy about you, right?"

"Yeah? Go on." Shinichi loved it when Kaito sweet talked him.

"And that I'd never leave you?" Kaito pressed. "You don't need to worry about me running off. I may be an indecisive idiot, but I'm damn loyal." The magician accented his point with a kiss.

"As long as _he's_ around, I'm going to worry, Kaito," the great detective replied honestly.

"Let's draw up an agreement, then," the taller brunette proposed. "I forfeit the right to terminate our relationship as long as you…promise to love me forever."

"Done," Conan chuckled, putting his lips to Kaito's collarbone and beginning to suck.

"How much longer until you get to be big Shin-chan again?" the taller teen groaned.

"Still three weeks." The detective smirked, sinking his teeth into the sensitive skin of his darling's neck.

"I'm not gonna make it," Kaito wailed.

All Shinichi could do was laugh.

….

Y

Mikau: I was typing the other day, and I thought to myself, "That kind of looks like a martini glass." Yes? No? Maybe? Oh well. I have a Christmas tree to go help my family put up, but thanks for hanging in there with me and reading chapter after chapter after chapter. Hopefully the next one will be up within the next week and a half. I'm having a lot of trouble finding time to edit and post lately. You probably noticed. Take care until next time, folks!


	51. Love's First Kiss

Mikau: Hey, guys! I know it's been about a month. You know who you should blame? My friend Taylor. He's distracting me lately. Him and the gym. Anyway, I want to thank all of you who reviewed last chapter: Sweetest Writer, Athie Lestrade, Shara Raizel, Aniki-xvi, patternleap, and MysteryConan. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Genta-kun's bald spot would be the first to go. While it gives him character, it also annoys my OCD.

….

Love's First Kiss

Saguru and Kaito went on a date to the fancy Italian restaurant with the picturesque fountain.

The blonde made several advances, but Kaito, feeling like the heroine of some cheesy chick flick, did a convincing job of pretending not to notice.

It just felt too forced, too clichéd.

The next day, they went out again—this time to an Indian restaurant in Shibuya, Kaito's treat. Even though it was a cheap date, the food was delicious, and Kaito was the best of company.

Saguru had an excellent time; however, he didn't find a romantic enough opportunity to initiate their first kiss.

At the end of the night, instead of dropping Hakuba off at his front door with a goodnight kiss, Kaito invited himself over, since it was too cold to walk all the way home—not that Saguru minded much; in fact, he was just about to suggest a sleepover himself when Kaito beat him to the punch.

"Have I ever told you how much I love your couch?" Kaito chuckled (hanging from aforementioned couch upside-down) as his host prepared tea and hot chocolate.

"You didn't need to. I deduced as much." Saguru smiled gently back at his love. "You don't plan on trying to drink in that position, do you? You'll spill all over and burn yourself."

"What are you, my mom or my boyfriend?" the brunette teased, sticking out his tongue, but righting himself anyway as Saguru brought over the beverages.

"I don't remember giving birth to you, though sometimes I feel like you're a child…. Let it cool a while; it's very hot," Hakuba cautioned before handing over the drinking chocolate.

"Yes, Dear," the magician giggled, glancing out the window. "Look! It's snowing!"

Kaito set down his mug and ran to the door to the balcony, sliding it open and stepping outside.

"Kai, don't go out there without a coat on! It's too cold," the Brit sighed, following after his boyfriend with a sweater.

"But it's so pretty," Kaito whispered, watching in awe as hundreds of tiny snowflakes swirled through the air around him. "And it's not _that_ cold."

"Yes it is," Saguru said at the last moment instead of "_You're_ pretty," like he had been about to. He held out the sweater, which Kaito reluctantly took with a mumbled, "Sankyu."

"I'd rather have _you_ keep me warm," the flirt said with a wink, causing the gentleman to blush.

"Like…this?" Saguru hesitantly wrapped his arms around the smaller boy from behind.

"Yeah," Kaito purred, leaning back into the contours of the younger teen's body. "Just like that."

They stood there, pressed together and just enjoying the contact, for a good while until Kaito got bored and started catching snowflakes on his tongue, leaning his head back to rest on Saguru's shoulder.

The taller boy laughed at his beloved's antics. "You're such a little kid sometimes."

"It's fun," Kaito argued. "What's the point in living, if you never have any fun?"

Saguru pondered for a minute before conceding. "You may have a point."

"Of course I do," the imp chuckled in glee victoriously. He looked over his shoulder up at his boyfriend and smiled, feeling like the luckiest guy alive.

Saguru caught his gaze and held it for a minute or two. "Kaito…" he whispered. "…I…" He swallowed hard and tried again, "…I…"

Kaito giggled. "I know. I love you too, Saguru."

The detective felt dizzy just hearing the words, and the butterflies in his stomach began flying faster and faster in all different directions as Kaito inched closer until their noses were scant inches apart.

Saguru leaned in, closing the gap between their lips.

It was absolutely nothing like Kaito had expected, though, that's not to say that it was at all bad. In fact, it was pretty mind-blowing, in Kaito's opinion. It was the complete opposite of Shinichi's kiss but every bit as good. Saguru's kiss was uniquely Saguru.

Where Shinichi's was always insistent, passionate, and red hot, Saguru's was tentative and shy, but warm. It was explorative and slow, but full of Saguru's deep love. There was nothing hurried or demanding about it. It was calm and a little unsure. Where Shinichi's was like jumping into a hot spring, Saguru's was like curling up in a blanket next to the fireplace. Saguru's kiss was warm, comfortable, and loving.

The one kiss became several, but eventually their lips parted, and the two lovebirds smiled.

"I _knew_ you'd be a good kisser," Kaito chuckled, pressing another one to Saguru's cheek.

"W-Was it anything like…when you kiss…?" Saguru stuttered, blushing.

"Idiot," Kaito snorted, turning around fully and pulling himself flush up against the blonde. "I told you, didn't I? I'll never compare you to each other. It was different, but it was just as good. Guru, I need you both to love me in your own ways. Sometimes I need Shinichi's passion to set my entire body on fire, but there are other times when I need your warmth to wrap around me and make me feel safe and loved. Stop worrying about the other leg of this triangle and focus on being young and crazy in love with me."

"'Kay." Laughing, Saguru pulled them into another kiss.

"Want to visit England with me over the winter break?" Hakuba whispered as his lips moved to Kaito's ear. "I want to take you to one of our villas in the country up north. We could play in the snow, cuddle by the fire, and exhaust my supply of black and white films."

"Sounds wonderful! When?" Kaito trilled, pushing forward and running both hands through Hakuba's soft blonde locks.

"Right around Christmas? We could leave next week on the twenty-third and come back just before the New Year's rush," Saguru proposed, head swimming with visions of the brunette—playing in the snow, snuggling on the couch, stealing the covers at night and kisses during the day.

"Perfect," Kaito whispered breathily into Saguru's ear. "Just the two of us all alone for a week? I can't even begin to imagine all of the trouble we could get ourselves into. I can't wait."

"Well, the staff will be there, but…I know. This is going to be the best Christmas ever," Saguru chuckled, heart positively brimming over with joy.

Kaito pulled back at once, like he had been shocked. "I can't…I can't run off to England with you and leave Shinichi all alone for Christmas Eve. God, I'm sooo sorry, Guru, but…I can't…."

"It's…okay," the detective mumbled, pulling his beloved back inside to the warmth of the manor. "We can go some other time…"

A little light bulb came on above the sleuth's head.

"…or…he could always just come with us," Saguru suggested.

Kaito blinked, mouth falling to the floor and hanging there, causing the teen to look very much like the aquatic creatures he feared. "Seriously?!"

Saguru nodded, retrieving his cup of tea—now quite chilled. "We…can take turns. It might end horrendously, but at least we can say we tried. Truthfully, I've found myself hating Kudo less and less over the past few weeks…except when I wanted to kill him last Friday, but…my point is that he can be okay at times, and this is important to you, so…"

"Are you seriously serious?" Kaito collapsed on the couch next to his boyfriend and continued to gape. "You know, sometimes I think this whole selfless thing you do is just an act. There's no way an actual human being could be so…so…I don't even know…just…you."

Saguru's gaze dropped into his cup and he sighed. "I'm a little more self-serving than you think. My objective is to make myself indispensable to you, thus insuring that you'll continue to love me. I'd do anything to achieve that end—even tolerate Kudo. You see, Kai, I've never been treated well, so I really don't expect much. You _could_ treat me like dirt, and I'd still be every bit as accommodating as long as you loved me. I _need_ you to love me, and that's the real reason behind my supposed selflessness."

Kaito blinked, not even sure how to respond to that.

Saguru chuckled nervously, gazing down and away in shame. "I know that that's not a very healthy approach to things, and I know it's probably a little…disconcerting to you, but…I imagine I'll get better gradually…over time…so—"

"—Guru?" Kaito called softly, taking the teacup and setting it down on the table.

The European detective slowly looked up.

Kaito smiled, lying down on his boyfriend's lap, gazing fondly up at those golden eyes he'd fallen for weeks ago. "I know you haven't had the best experiences with relationships of any kind, but give me a little credit, will ya? Do you really think I'd stop loving you so easily? Saguru, more than just being my boyfriend, you're my best friend—"

"—_Aoko's_ your best friend," the blonde interjected.

The smaller boy glared for all that he was worth. "Ahem. Best _male_ friend—"

"—More so than Kudo?" Hakuba interrupted again.

"Yeah. Now shut up and let me have my sappy monologue," the magician grumbled.

"I don't believe you. You're definitely closer to Kudo," Saguru muttered.

"Shin-chan is Kid's best friend. _You're_ mine. Now stuff it and let me talk. Okay?"

"Okay," the sleuth chuckled, unable to suppress a smile.

"Okay," Kaito huffed. "As I was saying, you're special and important to me and I love you, so stop being so insecure. I know I've hurt you in the past, and I'm sorry for that, and I know that I'm not in the best position to be asking this, but please trust me, Guru. Know that I mean it when I say that I love you. Think a little more highly of me; I'm not the kind of guy that would fool around with your feelings. I'm in this for the long haul."

"Sorry," Saguru whispered. "It's just that I still can't believe that this is happening. I'm not used to being loved…for real anyway. I've had fans and people that have admired me, but what they love is the mask I put on for the public; I doubt they'd be interested in the real me. Those that I've let close in the past have never been. I know you're not like them, but all I've ever known is rejection, so… I'm a little afraid to let all of the walls down, even around you. Maybe…after some time. Once I get used to the idea of being…special to someone."

"Take your time," Kaito sighed, smiling tiredly up at his love. "Just…remember that I love you, okay? That means I want _you_ to be happy, not for you to try to make _me_ happy. I'm happy enough just being loved by you two…. So…it's okay to be selfish with me. I'll let you get away with it because it's cute, 'kay?"

Saguru couldn't help but laugh. "If it will make you happy, Kai, I'll try to be more selfish from now on, but…making you happy makes me happy."

"Well, I'm not happy because you're not happy," Kaito snorted back.

"The reason I'm not happy is your unhappiness," Hakuba retorted.

"What if I pretended to be happy? Would that make you happy?" the reclining teen wondered.

"Perhaps. You're a good actor, but I doubt you could fool me. I know you too well. In fact, it would probably only make me upset," the detective mused. "I wouldn't want you to pretend for my sake."

"But if you got upset, I'd get upset, and then no one would be happy," the magician reasoned.

"How are we supposed to be happy?" Saguru sighed.

"Hell if I know, but let's change the subject," Kaito responded as he sat up. "Things were getting a bit too mushy there for a while. We sounded like girls."

"Would you like to watch John Cusack films?" the younger teen suggested.

"Yes!" Kaito sang with enthusiasm. "Whoa, wait. We were having an important conversation about holiday plans. Guru, are you _really_ really okay with Shin-chan coming along with us to England? Know that I won't be angry if you say 'No. I want you all to myself, Kai.'"

"However true that may be," the detective chuckled, "I actually _am_ okay with your little boy toy tagging along. I realized the other day that it was unreasonable to think I could make you forget about Kudo entirely. I wouldn't want _him_ to steal you away from _me_, so I've decided to give up and learn to be happy with this silly love triangle I suggested. I _want_ to be happy, and I want you to be happy, and if that includes Kudo being happy as well, so be it. I know that I'm going to want to kill the both of you at times, but…I've decided to play nice. We're all adults here, after all, despite Kudo's current appearance…. Well, Kudo and I are adults, anyway."

"Jerk," Kaito hissed, giving Saguru's ribs a decisive nudge with his elbow. "…Thanks, Guru…. I love you."

"That's more than enough thanks." Placing a quick peck on Kaito's temple as he stood, Saguru got up to put in a movie.

….

む

Mikau: It's the hiragana for mu. I've always thought it looked like a cow. Anyone else see it? Well, Happy Boxing Day, everybody! I hope you all had a good Christmas, if that's what you celebrated yesterday. If not, I hope your respective holiday was awesome. If you don't celebrate anything, I hope you had one heck of a good Tuesday. Thanks so much for tuning in, and I hope to see you again soon. Next chapter has Conan in it for all of you KaiShin fans.


	52. Playing the Ponies

Mikau: I'm baaaack. Sorry to have gone MIA on you all for nearly a year. Law school happened. I'm studying to be a paralegal. My grandpa got sick, so my grandparents moved in with us, and then he died, so that was a huge adjustment. I went through a very ugly breakup, and then I got really sick. I'm better now, but things were really bad for a while. And now I'm back. I've missed you terribly, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Also, if you have a moment, check out my new fic, Riddle Me. It's HakuKai, but Conan makes a guest appearance, giving Kaito love advice. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would be more plot-relevant episode per season. Or maybe there would be less because I'd be too busy writing pointless, mushy, shounen ai scenes. Hmm. Tough call.

…...

Playing the Ponies

"I don't have a passport," Conan sighed, letting his head thunk down into the couch pillow at the Mouri Detective Agency. "And it's not like I could use a temporary antidote. We wouldn't even make it off the runway before our four hours were up what with security being what it is nowadays. Even the real trial antidotes don't do squat anymore."

"How would you know that? I thought you stopped trying to use the trial antidotes months ago." Kaito's eyes narrowed.

Conan smiled sheepishly. "I might have tried a few times these past few months."

"For…me?" The younger brunette blinked.

The detective nodded.

Kaito smiled. "You know, if it's a passport you need, I've got a friend that could probably help."

"That Chrysanthemum woman?" The boy wonder frowned.

Hadn't Hakuba been worried about Kaito's friend being shady? Dangerous?

Then again, Hakuba was a worrywart.

Kaito could take care of himself. No need to baby him.

The thief dug out his phone and dialed the now familiar number.

She picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, Chrisy. How are you?" Kaito greeted sweetly.

"What? No cutesy nicknames this time, Kiddo? What do you want?" the voice on the other end chuckled.

"Why would you think that I wanted something?" the magician laughed weakly. "Couldn't I just be calling to chat?"

"You always want something. Besides, you called me by my name, Kaito. What's up?"

"It's nothing major," he assured. He could tell by her tone of voice that she was frowning. "I just need a passport."

"Your mother told me in no uncertain terms that you were grounded, Mister," the slightly older of the two scoffed.

"It's not for me," Kaito explained. "Guru, Shin-chan, and I want to go to England over break, but Edogawa Conan doesn't have a passport."

"Oooh," Chrisy replied with a nod. "I see. Alright, but you have to do something for me."

That was unusual. Usually Kiku-chan informed him that someone else was footing the bill.

"And…what would that be?" Kaito held his breath, knowing that a black market passport could be rather pricey.

"Have a birthday party next year," was Chrysanthemum's simple request.

Kaito was floored. "Why would you want me to…?" And then it hit him. Kaito smiled. "I'll be sure to be around to have another birthday next year, Kiku-chan. Thanks."

"Take care, Kiddo."

"Can she do it?" Conan gazed up anxiously at his boyfriend.

"We've got ourselves a passport," Kaito announced, winking and making a V for victory sign. "Now all we've got to do is convince your caretakers to let you go."

"That shouldn't be too hard. Occhan loves you about as much as he hates me. Ran's the one you'll have to convince," Conan snorted, climbing into Kaito's lap.

Being pint-sized _did_ have its advantages at times.

"The old man doesn't _hate_ you," the magician sighed, giving his shrunken friend a nudge. "He just thinks you're annoying since you're always interfering with his work."

"Saving his bacon, more like it," the real 'Sleeping Kogoro' grumbled.

"But _he_ doesn't know that," Kaito advocated. "He's a nice guy deep down. He's just…a little rough around the edges. He's got it tough…but he _does_ have a soft spot for you."

"How would you know?" Conan turned around so that he was sitting on Kaito's lap, facing the other teen with his arms wrapped around his neck and legs around Kaito's waist.

The taller brunette shrugged. "I can tell from the way he talks about you."

"When do you two talk?" The super sleuth frowned, smelling a rat.

"Whenever I drop by." Kaito smiled innocently.

Conan's eyes narrowed. "You mean when I'm _not_ here?"

The thief nodded.

"Why would you do that?"

Kaito chuckled. "It's called tactics. I make it a point to get in good with my loved ones' loved ones—friends, family, caretakers…you know."

"You're not serious," the schoolyard sleuth hissed.

Kaito just smiled.

"Who have you been talking to?" the Chihuahua growled.

"Oh, just the Mouris, the Professor, the Mad Scientist, the Shounen Tanteidan, Hattori Heiji, Division One, your parents…you get the idea."

Conan's jaw dropped and he began to stutter. "J-Ju-Just what did you s-say to them?!"

"Oh, various things. The Mouris already know me from when I come to visit you, so we just chat about this and that. I told the Professor and Haibara that I was your boyfriend, since I figured they already knew. Ai-chan makes really delicious healthy snacks. She's a sweet girl under that scary façade, and she really cares for the Professor. I told the kids that I was a friend of Conan-kun's. They thought that I was Shinichi at first. I haven't told Hattori that we're dating yet, since I figured you'd want to do that yourself, but I told him I was a good friend of yours. He was a little suspicious at first, but we both have a thing for Pakkun and Makkun, so we bonded over manzai. I didn't actually talk to Division One, but it turns out our parents are old friends. Our dads were tight, and your mom learned disguise from Oyaji. I told them, 'Hi. My name's Kuroba Kaito; remember me? I'm in love with your son.' They're looking forward to having me as a son-in-law."

All Conan could do was facepalm. Hard.

"You didn't. Please tell me you didn't," he wailed, dying of embarrassment.

"Okay. I didn't," Kaito replied pleasantly.

"Really?" Conan looked up hopefully.

"No, but you told me to tell you that I didn't." Kaito shrugged.

"I'm going to kill you," the young detective choked. "And then I'm going to kill myself."

"Don't forget about Saguru," Kaito reminded gently. "I'm sure he'd get the wrong idea and be depressed if you left him out of our lovers' suicide."

Conan groaned just as Mouri Kogoro walked through the door. "If it isn't the Kuroba brat!"

"If it isn't the super sleuth himself! Hey there, Detective Mouri," Kaito greeted with a cheery smile. "How's it going?"

"Yoko-chan's new drama comes on at seven!" The former policeman squealed with all the enthusiasm of a hardcore fangirl. Then, his voice abruptly lowered into a threatening growl. "So make sure you're out of the way by then. You too munchkin."

"Don't worry. The chibi and I will be out of your hair, helping Ran-chan make dinner," the guest assured.

"You'd better be," Mouri harrumphed, simultaneously opening a can of beer and fishing out a cigarette. "Want a sip?" He offered the can to Kaito.

The younger of the teens blinked. "Is it really okay?"

"Sure," the elder detective guffawed. "It's just a sip. Don't tell Ran, though."

"Deal," Kaito chuckled, setting a scowling Shin-chan down on the sofa and leaning across the desk to take the can. He took a sip and choked.

Mouri let out a thunderous laugh as he took his beverage back. "What? That your first time? Well, I guess you would have been too young for your father to give you any."

Conan gave a start.

Kaito had told the old man about his father? Just how much time had the two spent together?

"Y-Yeah," Kaito continued to cough. "Damn. That's disgusting! How the hell do you drink that?"

"Ya get used to it. Mixed drinks and fancy alcohol like that's expensive, so if you learn to like beer, you can get the same benefits of being drunk for cheap," Mouri declared like he was giving the younger man the secret to immortality.

"What benefits?" Kaito scoffed, making a funny face as he tried to remove the taste of alcohol from his tongue.

"Makes it easier to charm the ladies," the dirty old man replied suggestively.

"I'm good, thanks," the man with two boyfriends chuckled nervously.

"Oh yeah? Got somebody, do ya, Punk?" Mouri snorted with a smirk.

"Yeah," Kaito retorted. "A blonde _and_ a brunette."

At this, Mouri let out his huge, obnoxious laugh. "A regular playboy, aren't ya, Kuroba brat? You stay away from my Ran, you hear?"

"Yes, Sir," Kaito chuckled. "I wouldn't think of it. Not that your daughter's not lovely—any man'd be lucky to have her. I just respect the both of you too much…. There's also a healthy amount of fear."

"Yeah, Ran'd bend you into a pretzel. You're such a scrawny wimp."

"Hey," Kaito pouted as Conan snickered.

"Better you than that Kudo brat, though."

Kaito snickered as Conan pouted.

"Anyway…" Mouri took a swig of his booze and a drag of his cigarette before getting out the paper and showing it to Kaito. "Who ya feelin' for this weekend's big race?"

"Don't bet too much money," the magician warned, picking up the paper. "I'd feel bad if you lost because of me. I don't know anything about horse racing; I'm just picking the names that I like best."

"Ya haven't been wrong yet, Boy," Sleeping Kogoro laughed, clapping Kaito on the back.

Conan shot his boyfriend a glare that said: "You help the old man win horse races?"

Kaito shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "Then…how about…Lucky Lady…Go For Broke…and…The White Stallion?"

The alcoholic blinked. "The White Stallion hasn't won a race in…well, all year."

Conan rolled his eyes while Kaito chuckled nervously.

"Oh. Really? Well, then I guess he's overdue, right? Sorry. I just picked that one because the name reminded me of…someone."

This elicited another eye roll from the other leg of the love triangle.

"A sweetheart of yours? The blonde or the brunette?" Mouri chortled.

"Yeah." Kaito blushed. "The blonde."

The old man threw his head back and laughed. "Aw, the hell? The payoff'll be great if he wins, and what's a couple thousand yen?"

"Just don't blame me, if you lose, Oji-san," Kaito sighed, handing the paper back. "Oh, yeah. By the way, next week, for winter break, I'm going with Hakuba Saguru—you know the Superintendent's son, right?—to one of his family's villas in England, and we were wondering if we could take Conan-kun with us. Would that be okay? I mean, Saguru's caretaker is coming too, so there'll be adult supervision, and I swear we'll take good care of him. Saguru's _super_ responsible, and…"

Kaito continued while Conan turned on the childish charm and began to bounce up and down, begging.

"I don't care," the senior detective snorted with a shrug. "Ran's the one you'll have to convince."

Before the star-crossed lovers could get another word in, Mouri's alarm went off, alerting him that it was currently 6:55.

"Alright. Out! I have to get ready for my date with Yoko-chan, so you pipsqueaks get out of the way!"

And with that, Mouri Kogoro was lost to the world, so the couple shrugged and made their way to the kitchen to await Ran's return.

…

Mikau: I had fun writing this, but I'm a little afraid that I'm washed up after being gone for so long, so some feedback would be greatly appreciated. Have a great day, guys, and thanks so much for dropping in and taking the time to read my story.


	53. Making Peace

Mikau: Hello everyone! Thanks so much for joining me once again, and thank you to Saia-chan and Gratia Puella who reviewed. The conclusion of Riddle Me is up too. If you're interested, take a look. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would be more Heiji. I'm missing Kansai-ben terribly. I especially like it when he says "Nan ya?" It sounds like he's meowing. "Nya". I can't help but hear it every time he speaks.

…

Making Peace

"So…you and Occhan hang out, huh?" Conan eyed his boyfriend with suspicion.

"Hehe…yeah," Kaito chuckled. "Like I said, he's a little rough around the edges, but he's a nice guy. He's silly, but he's not as stupid as he seems. He really cares about his wife and daughter…and _you_, you know. He just…he's having a hard time…. He kind of reminds me of Saguru."

Conan snorted. "Kaito, Occhan and Hakuba couldn't be more different. They're like night and day!"

"You know, in British, they say 'as different as chalk and cheese,'" Kaito replied helpfully. He'd been wanting to share that with someone ever since Saguru had taught him.

Conan frowned. "In _British_? You mean in _English_?"

Kaito shrugged. "No. In British. Like 'in American' or 'in Australian.' You know. In British."

"Please tell me you're joking," Conan muttered.

"I'm joking," Kaito chuckled.

"Kid really _is_ the brains of this operation after all, isn't he?" the shrunken detective teased.

"Meanie," Kaito snorted, leaning up against the kitchen counter. "Anyway…the old man told me that sometimes he gets really down and feels like he can't do anything right, even when he's giving it his all. That side of him kind of reminds me of Guru…. Maybe…you could lead Mouri through a few more cases before just darting him and solving them yourself? It's frustrating for him when he can't remember any of the cases he's solved afterwards, and those tranq darts you use are bound to do some harm eventually, what with the frequency you use them."

Shinichi opened his mouth to reply, but changed his mind mid-motion. He closed his mouth and nodded. "I'll give him a chance to put it together for himself, if it'll make you happy, Kai-chan, but I can't do it too often. There are some people with sharp eyes around those crime scenes that might notice that I'm 'leading the witness.'"

Kaito smiled, picking up his little love and giving him a squeeze. "That's my man. So benevolent. So generous."

"So eight years old," Conan sighed, leaning in and pressing his lips to Kaito's.

"Mmm," the lovesick teen replied against his detective's lips. "How much longer?"

"Still three weeks, Kai-chan," Conan giggled against the younger boy's lips.

"I'm gonna die," the insatiable teenage male moaned into his beloved's mouth.

"You know, I actually can't wait until you and Hakuba start getting physical. It'll take a load off my shoulders," the shrunken sleuth chuckled.

"I'm not _that_ bad," Kaito whined.

"Kaito, if you had it your way, we'd be in bed all day," Conan responded flatly.

"You say that like it's a _bad_ thing, Love," the instigator giggled.

"You _need_ two boyfriends," Conan sighed. "Your sex drive wears me out."

"You like it," Kaito whispered, leaning in for another kiss just as the front door opened.

"I'm home!" Ran called, stepping inside and taking off her coat.

The boys quickly checked their appearances and made small adjustments so that it did not look like they had just been making out before Kaito carried Conan out into the common area.

"Welcome back!" they chorused.

As an added bonus, the magician pulled a rose out of Ran's ear and presented it to the lady.

What better way to butter a woman up than to give her flowers?

"How was your _date_, Ran-chan?" Kaito teased, exchanging Conan for the bag of groceries that the woman of the house had brought home.

The karate champion rolled her eyes, following her guest into the kitchen and helping him to put away the groceries. "We went to see that new movie with Matsu Jun in it, and then we went window shopping. It was actually a lot of fun."

"Good," Kaito chuckled, giving Conan a boost so that he could put the canned t-t-t-t-tuna away in the cabinet above the stove. "Though, please don't tell me that you're a Matsu Jun fan."

"Something wrong with Matsu Jun?" There was a threat in there somewhere.

"No. Not at all. I'm just kind of partial to Sakurai Sho-kun, as far as looks goes, though I don't like his new haircut. Personality-wise, I like Aiba-kun. He's a riot!"

"Have you seen his new drama? With the cat?!" Ran exclaimed, nearly dropping the soy sauce bottle on Conan's head.

The tiny sleuth tuned out as the fangirl talk deteriorated into squealing. He started listening again nearly ten minutes later when Ran said, "What about you? Do you have any Christmas plans?"

"Actually…" Kaito segued nicely from a description of his plans into his request that Conan join them.

The midget in question held his breath, looking up at Ran with big doe eyes, while Kaito explained.

"…Of course, I'll be sure to talk to his parents and get their approval," Kaito assured, "but I wanted to be able to tell them that the person they trust to care for their son trusts me to care for their son, since I don't know them very well."

Ran bit her lip as she looked from one boy to the next. "…and…just what all are you planning to do there?"

"This and that." Kaito shrugged, trying hard to contain his excitement. "Saguru wants to have a movie marathon, and I'm sure the two detective nerds will talk about Holmes a lot. We might drop by Saguru's family in London one day, and, if we do, we're bound to hit up all of the famous Holmes-related spots. Also, apparently there's lots of snow there, so we'll be playing outside a lot—though, I'll make sure that Shin-chan dresses warmly and drinks plenty of fluids and…and…uh…eats his vegetables?"

This got a laugh out of Conan's self-appointed guardian. "All right. He can go, but make sure you keep me updated on where you are and what you're doing. Also, contact me immediately if something happens; I'll give you my information."

"Yes!" Conan jumped up and down in glee, looking every bit like a small child. "Thank you, Ran-neechan!"

"Thank you so much, Ran-chan!" Kaito sang, just as excited as his boyfriend. "I swear I'll take good care of him."

"I know," Ran sighed, giving the two a soft smile. "I trust you, Kaito. Now, could you help me with the vegetables? Conan-kun, I need you to go downstairs and get the tofu from the fridge in the office."

"Sure thing." Kaito got to work slicing and peeling while the real super sleuth went to fetch the tofu. "Hey, Ran-chan?"

"Hm?" Ran filled a pot with water and placed it on the stove to boil.

"Sorry if this is a little personal, but…things are going pretty well with the karate guy you're dating? I mean, you're happy?" Kaito bit his lip and snuck a glance at his hostess's expression.

Ran's face remained the same—carefree with a soft smile. "Yeah. Things are going really well. He's nice…an honest guy…very sweet."

Kaito nodded, trying to concentrate on chopping carrots, not fingers. "And…have you talked to Shinichi lately?"

"Just the other day. Why?" Ran looked up, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"I was just wondering." Kaito shrugged, moving on to the potatoes. "Do you know if he's seeing anyone?"

Ran blinked. "He did say that there was someone that he was pretty serious about, but he didn't tell me much about them."

"And…how do you feel about him liking someone new?" Kaito held his breath.

Ran laughed softly and smiled. "Kaito, I'm fine with it. Yes, I was upset at first when I realized that Shinichi and I weren't going to happen, but…I made that decision myself. I told him that I was going to start dating other people, and he told me that he was happy for me. It wouldn't be fair for me to deny him happiness, even if it is with someone else."

"Even if it was someone you knew?" the magician whispered, cutting the veggies very carefully. "Maybe a guy?"

Ran paused, looking up again, this time a puzzled look on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything, if he didn't. He probably wanted to tell you himself, but…" Kaito put down the knife and turned to face Ran. "Look, I swear when I told you that you deserved better and that you should date other people, I really meant it. I hardly knew Shinichi at that point, so it wasn't like I was trying to steal him from you or anything, but now that we're friends, I…I don't want to keep secrets from you, so…"

Ran blinked, leaning back against the counter for support. "Y-Y-You and…and Shinichi are…?"

Kaito lowered his head and nodded, unable to meet her gaze any longer. "I'm sorry, Ran-chan. You can hate me, if you want, but I don't want to lie to the people I care about anymore. I wanted to know that you were okay with it before things went any further with Shinichi and me, so…"

"Oh, Kaito," Ran sighed, coming over to pat her friend on the shoulder. "You're so cute. Don't worry about it. If you two are happy, then…I'll just get over it. It'll probably be…weird at first when I see you two together, but…" She sighed again, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "So…who confessed first?"

"He did," Kaito laughed, infinitely relieved to have Ran's blessing. "It was at the end of August, just about four months ago. He told me he loved me out of the blue all gallantly and romantic-like. We'd just been friends up until that point, but then…"

"He swept you off your feet?" Ran squealed, a sucker for love stories. "Kissed you passionately?"

"Not quite yet," Kaito chuckled sheepishly. "At that point, I still thought that I liked girls."

"Oh yeah." That brought Ran back to reality. "You don't seem like the type to be gay. When'd that happen?"

"I'm _not_ gay," Kaito pouted. "I like girls just fine. It's just…Shinichi helped me discover that boys are kind of nice too. That was…I guess in October when he kissed me."

"What was it like?" Ran gasped, eager to hear all of the details.

Kaito's face turned scarlet. He turned away and shrugged. "I don't know…magical? Good. I liked it. You should know what kissing's like. You and your karate boy have kissed before, haven't you?"

Now it was Ran's turn to blush. "Well, yeah, but I've never kissed _Shinichi_."

"I don't know. I don't really have much of a basis for comparison. I guess it's a little bit like being burned alive at times. He's really aggressive…passionate. His tongue is my second favorite body part."

Ran's face turned an even darker shade of red as she wondered whether or not she should ask what Kaito's _favorite_ of Shinichi's body parts was.

"I could do a demonstration of how he kisses, if you're really interested," Kaito snickered.

"Flirt," Ran scolded, slapping her friend with a dish towel as she laughed. "So…you love him?"

Kaito nodded. "Madly."

"Well, if you can put up with his Holmes-mania, he's yours," Ran snorted, going back to dinner.

"I think the pros outweigh the cons in this case," the teen in love snickered again.

A few minutes later, when he was sure it was safe, a very red-faced Conan returned to the kitchen with the requested tofu.

…

Mikau: How was it? Hopefully you enjoyed it. I've been doing a lot of practice writing lately, and it's really helping me to get back into the groove of things. If you have a moment, I'd appreciate your review. I like to know what people liked and what was funny and what needs improvement. Thanks! Take care guys! And because Saia-chan asked for it, emot! This one depicts someone patting their sad friend on the head. Have I done this one before?

( ^.^)/(T_T )


	54. Disagreements

Mikau: Good afternoon! Thanks so much for joining me once again. This one's a little longer than the past two. Hopefully you'll enjoy it, but before that, I want to tell you about my new fic, Two for Tea. It's light KaiShin. The two team up to solve Hakuba's kidnapping. Check it out, if you have time. And now the main event!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would let Mouri solve a few more cases on his own. People are going to get suspicious if he only remembers a handful of the cases that he's solved. Plus, I feel sorry for the guy. Being knocked out so many times has got to be bad for his health.

…

Disagreements

"Are we there yet?" Kaito whined softly into Hakuba's ear for the fourth time since they'd left the airport for the Hakuba family villa. He made sure to nuzzle the ear in a tantalizing fashion in order to most effectively torture his boyfriend.

"No," Saguru replied through gritted teeth as Kaito playfully let his fingers trail from the blonde's knee to his inner thigh.

"You're as bad a child, Kaito-kun," Baaya chuckled, unaware of the goings on in the backseat. "I expected something like this from Conan-kun, but not you."

"What can I say? I'm just a big Kid," Kaito chuckled, giving Saguru's bum a squeeze.

"And I'm mature for my age," Conan added, rolling his eyes at Kaito's bullying.

Quite fed up with his boyfriend's teasing, Saguru mouthed, "If you don't stop, I'm going to have Baaya pull over so that you can do something about the state you've got me in."

Kaito smirked and mouthed back, "I wouldn't mind. I'd get down on my knees for you any time."

Kaito's grin went away the instant Conan's hand slipped into his boxers.

"Behave," Shinichi warned with a feral smile. "Or else."

"Yes, Sir," the joker mouthed back with a gulp.

They arrived at the villa an hour later without further incident, and the servants were already there with a hot meal waiting.

After lunch, Baaya and Saguru led the guests to their rooms and let them get settled in before Saguru gave them the grand tour.

"This place is huuuuuge," Kaito, unaccustomed to such extravagance, cooed.

"It's nice," Shinichi agreed civilly, making a mental note to take the two to the Kudo condo in Hawaii. It would be fun romancing Kaito in an island setting, all the while one-upping Hakuba.

"Thank you," the other detective replied with a small smile and a polite bow as he led them into the living room. "Well, now that we're here, what would you two like to do? I know the trip was a little last-minute, so we don't really have an established itinerary; I propose that we create one now."

"Sounds like a good idea." Conan nodded, deferring to his boyfriend. "What do you want to do, Kaito?"

"First? Nap," the magician sighed, sinking down to the floor next to the couch and resting his head on the coffee table. "Jetlag sucks."

"Poor baby," Saguru chuckled, sitting down on the couch next to his beloved and petting the brunette's head. "Maybe it would be best to take it easy today, then. We have plenty of time. How about the other days? Is there anything special you want to do?"

"Anything's fine. Playing in the snow and just hanging out together here would be good. I mean, we're here to spend time together for the holidays. There will be plenty of other opportunities for sightseeing…but…I know Shinichi's just dying to get to London and go on a Holmes pilgrimage."

Conan blushed but nodded as he climbed into Kaito's lap. "I really _would_ like to see the museum on Baker Street…among other things. If you two don't want to, I'm fine just going by myself. It's not like I need babysitters, if you want to do something else."

"You're still, like, a baby, _Conan-kun_," Kaito laughed. "You can't go traipsing London all by your lonesome, Shin-chan. I'll go with you…uh…if you foot the bill. Sorry I'm always relying on you guys when it comes to money. I mean, paying for dates I could never afford, flying me to England…"

"Don't worry about it," Shinichi replied gently, playfully nudging Kaito's arm.

"It's not like either of us has earned the money ourselves. I think we both understand that not everyone can have rich parents, and I certainly don't begrudge you a few good meals or airfare," Saguru added.

"Your company _more_ than makes up for it," the oldest of the three assured.

"Thanks, guys," Kaito chuckled, feeling all warm and fuzzy.

"Incidentally, I think going to London for a day or two is a fantastic idea. Is there anything in particular that you'd like to do there, Kai?" the European detective inquired.

"Actually, yeah." Kaito took a deep breath. "I'd like to meet your family, if that's okay."

After seeing the slightly panicked look on his friend's face, Kaito quickly revised his request. "I mean, you don't have to tell them that I'm your boyfriend. We could just be close friends for now, if that would be better. It's just…I wanna meet the important people in your life, and I want to see where you grew up…that's all…. Do they…have you said anything about me to them?"

Hakuba froze. "Well…you know how I'm not very close to my family?" He swallowed hard.

Kaito nodded.

"I don't really talk to them, so there hasn't been an opportunity to tell them…well…anything," the Brit explained.

"Oh." Kaito nodded slowly. "So…who _are_ the important people in your life that I've been wanting to meet?"

Saguru smiled shyly, looking less flustered than before. "You've met Baaya already, and I'd like to introduce you to my grandfather, but…I don't know how he would react to my having a boyfriend. I'm not quite sure how my parents would react either."

"I'm guessing that they'd probably not be as open to the idea as Shinichi's parents and my mom," Kaito sighed, getting up to lie on the couch. He used Hakuba's lap for a pillow and turned Conan around so that the smallest of the teens was lying on Kaito's chest.

"What exactly did you say to my parents when you called them?" Shinichi grumbled.

"I _told_ you. I told them who I was and that I was in love with their son. It went pretty much word-for-word how I told you before."

"You called his parents?" Saguru blinked, mouth hanging slightly open.

Kaito nodded.

"Wait. Did you tell them about Hakuba too?" Shinichi inquired, quite surprised that he hadn't received an annoying call from his mother, scolding him for not telling her about his new sexual orientation.

"No. I didn't." Kaito's brow furrowed. "Has anyone told…anyone about the three of us? I tried telling Aoko, and I don't think she gets it. She didn't take the news well."

"I don't think anyone knows that you're dating Hakuba too, but a few people know that I'm dating you, Kaito." Conan shrugged, but then pushed himself up so that he was straddling Kaito's stomach so that he could glare down at the magician. "Thanks a lot for telling Ran, by the way. She called me the other night and demanded that I treat you right. She threatened to karate kick me through a wall if I broke your heart or treated you the way I'd treated her."

"Sorry." Kaito smiled sheepishly before looking up at the blonde detective. "What about you, Guru? Have you told anyone about the three of us yet?"

"No, I haven't. Baaya knows that you and I are dating, but I haven't told her that you're still dating Kudo as well. Your mother knows, though, doesn't she, Kai?"

Kaito cleared his throat and did his best to look away. "Uh…no, actually. She was out of town for a while, so ever since she got back she's been spending every moment she can with Hiro-san. I haven't exactly had a lot of time with her lately…. Besides, what am I gonna tell her? 'Mom, you'll never guess what. I slept with Shin-chan, and we're doing just fine, but now I'm dating Guru too. We kissed the other day, and it was super. Isn't that great?'"

"You two kissed?!" Shinichi yelped. He hadn't expected them to move so quickly.

"Yeah," Kaito purred, setting Conan down on the couch.

Saguru looked away, blushing as Kaito placed a knee on either side of his legs and sat on the Brit's lap so that Kaito was straddling the blonde.

"He's wonderful," the imp boasted, leaning in and giving Saguru a little peck on the lips.

"Kaito, stop," Hakuba warned, blush growing darker on his cheeks.

"Shh. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Kaito grinned, forcing Saguru to face him as he kissed the blonde's cheeks. "Unless you're worried about Shin-chan being jealous. Are you jealous, Shin-chan?"

Conan rolled his eyes and laughed. "Of course I am…so I better be next, okay?"

"It's a promise," Kaito chuckled, going back to Saguru, nuzzling his neck. "See? No need to be embarrassed and nothing to worry about." He caught Saguru's lips once more.

Hakuba pulled back. "Kaito," he growled in that warning tone, but his boyfriend paid him no mind.

"Relax, Guru. You don't have to be so uptight when it's just the three of us. I mean, here we are all alone for, like, a week in this gorgeous villa with all of this natural beauty surrounding us. It'd be a crime to let it go to waste when we should be having an orgy, don't you think?" Kaito reasoned. "Come on. You're too tense. Re-lax."

Saguru was about to protest when Kaito spoke again. "I know. How about a little lap dance to settle your nerves?" the flirt chuckled, pressing his hips forward and letting his fingers trail down Saguru's chest.

All the while, Shinichi was discovering that instead of finding the scene infuriating, he actually thought it fairly erotic.

"Stop," Hakuba replied firmly, rolling Kaito off and getting a few feet away before turning back to face his puzzled boyfriend. "I've told you before that it makes me angry when you act trashy like that, so please stop."

Kaito blinked, his confused expression turning to a glare as he processed what had been said. "Trashy?"

"Yes," Saguru retorted. "It makes me uncomfortable, you acting like a cat in heat like that."

"You haven't seen anything yet." Shinichi muttered under his breath, trying his best not to laugh. "Honestly, Hakuba, Kaito was just being affectionate."

"_That_ is not affectionate. Affection is cuddling and hugging and holding hands. _That_ is downright indecent," the Brit huffed.

"Oh, so I'm indecent, am I?" Kaito snorted.

"When you act like that in front of other people, you are," Saguru returned.

"What other people? My _boyfriend_?" the magician retorted, scandalized. "If you think _that's_ indecent, maybe we should just go back to being friends; I don't think the whole romantic angle's gonna work between us."

"Kaito," Shinichi scolded. "Don't say such hateful things that you don't mean just because you're angry. You'll only beat yourself up for it later."

"Oh, so now you're taking _his_ side?" Kaito snapped, getting to his feet. "Well, how about we break up too so that you two can go out together?"

"Don't yell at _me_ because you're angry with _him_, Kaito," Shinichi replied calmly.

"You know what? I'm gonna go take a nap in my room. Wake me up for dinner, okay?" Kaito snorted, mumbling "prude jerk," under his breath as he stalked out of the room.

Shinichi sighed. "Well…. That went really well, don't you think? Now he's mad at the both of us."

"I don't need you to tell me that, thank you very much," Saguru grumbled, sinking back down into the couch.

"Let's not get mad at each other too. The last thing we need is for all three of us to be quarreling with both of the others," the shrunken sleuth sighed once more.

"You're right," Saguru mumbled, resting his head in his hands. "Who was in the wrong there? It was me, wasn't it?"

The smaller of the two shrugged. "A little bit of both, actually. Everyone knows that 'stop' means 'stop,' so technically Kaito should have stopped when you said to, but, in his defense, you weren't being very clear about the why. He had no idea _why_ you wanted him to stop…and…neither do I, by the way. I mean, you _are_ interested in him, aren't you? I would never turn down a lap dance if Kaito offered. Just what the hell happened there, Hakuba?"

The bigger detective blushed and looked away. "I…I don't know. A lot of things, really. I'm not ready to be physically intimate with him yet, and definitely not while you're watching. It makes me extremely uncomfortable."

"Do you think he knew that?" Conan scoffed.

"…No," Hakuba replied after a moment of thought. "It probably did seem like I was being a jerk."

Conan nodded. "You probably hurt him when you called him trashy. He seems to have this complex about being a slut lately. However, it was pretty childish of him to try to hurt you because you hurt him."

"No. I was the one who was wrong," the younger teen sighed, getting to his feet. "I'll go explain and apologize this instant."

"Hold up, Hakuba," Shinichi called out to his co-boyfriend. "Let him rest and cool his head. He'll probably realize he's acting _my_ age, if we leave him alone for a while. Plus, he's probably cranky because of the jetlag. Let him sleep and sort things out later."

Saguru gave his rival's advice some thought before taking a seat next to Conan on the couch. "Yes, you're right. It won't do any good to bother him when he's tired and upset. We'll only end up quarreling…. Thank you, Kudo. I appreciate your help, but…I must ask, why are you aiding me?"

Conan shrugged, still wondering a little bit himself. "I guess…I've kind of resigned myself to this. I know a week ago I would have been overjoyed that you two were fighting, but now…I mean, I see how unhappy it makes Kaito, and you're really not such a terrible guy so long as we're not rivals in love, so… Mainly, I'm doing it for his sake, but…look, do you wanna watch some Sherlock Holmes episodes or something while Cinderella gets some beauty sleep?"

Hakuba blinked twice and then smiled. "I do believe I have the complete series of Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes."

A few hours of geeking out later, it was just about time for dinner, so Saguru took a deep breath and went to wake his ladylove.

He knocked on the slumbering magician's door, but there was no response, so he took another breath and let himself in. "Kaito? It's time for dinner."

Kaito was out cold, snoring softly with his mouth slightly open.

He looked absolutely adorable.

Saguru sat down on the bed and gently shook his darling's shoulder as he called, "Kai? Time to get up."

Indigo eyes slowly opened, but they took a minute to focus.

Kaito yawned, rubbing away the sleep that had formed at the corners of his eyes.

"Guru?" he mumbled, a little confused as to why his boyfriend was there. "I just had this really weird dream," the magician chuckled, circling his arms around the detective's neck. "I wanted to take you flying, but you kept trying to explain to me that the glider couldn't fit us both."

"You would definitely need to make some modifications before you could convince me to strap myself into that flying, metal death-trap," the Brit snorted.

"It's perfectly safe," Kaito sighed, pulling himself up to give Hakuba an Eskimo kiss. "Geez. Even in my dreams you're a spoilsport."

"I am not a—"

"—Yes, you are," Kaito chuckled, sitting up. It was then that he noticed his surroundings and remembered where he was and what had happened. "Jerk. We're fighting!"

Saguru sighed; he had hoped that his beloved had decided to forget about their previous argument. "No. No, we're not, because you're right. I was in the wrong, Kaito, and I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings."

"You think I'm trashy," Kaito bit back. "You think a little 'sorry' is gonna cut it, Tantei-san?"

"No. I fully intend to explain myself, if you'll allow me?"

Kaito begrudgingly gave the nod. "Okay, but make it quick, and this had better be good, Mister."

"For starters, I do not think that _you_ are trashy, Dove. I think that offering to give a lap dance in front of other people is a little less than classy," Hakuba began.

"My _boyfriend_," Kaito reiterated. "I don't get what the big deal is if it's just the three of us. It's not like I'd do that at a restaurant or in front of your family or something. It's just _Shin-chan_."

"I know. I know," Saguru sighed, wondering why _he_ always had to be the patient, reasonable one in this relationship. "I get that it might not be a big deal to _you_ to include Kudo in our romantic activities since you two are already romantically involved, but you must remember that he's practically a stranger to me. I've spent only a fraction of the time with him that you have, and I'm not exactly even what you would call 'comfortable' being physical with _you _yet. Could you maybe try to think about how you made me feel today when you did that?"

Kaito's eyes widened, and his mouth formed into a little 'oh.' "Saguru, I'm sooo sorry. I didn't even think that…I didn't know that you'd…"

"Don't…don't fret over it too much; I'm fine," Saguru assured with a small smile. "At the time I was extremely uncomfortable, but…I understand, and I don't blame you."

"You should," Kaito pouted. "You shouldn't be so lenient with me all the time, Guru. It's not fair that you always have to be the one to mediate and empathize. It's not right."

"I don't mind, Kai."

"You _should_," the brunette returned. "_I_ do. I hope it's not some part of your be-perfect-so-that-Kaito-never-stops-loving-me plan."

"No, Kaito. I was in the wrong this time as well," Saguru waved his boyfriend's worries away. "I wasn't being clear with you, and I understand where you were coming from, so…just…please be considerate of my feelings in the future. I understand that you want to integrate your relationships with both Kudo and myself, but I'm just not ready for three people…especially when I'm not even used to just the two of us yet."

Kaito nodded, sighing and looking down at his sock-clad feet. "It makes me feel bad when you're always so accommodating. I hardly ever go out of my way like that for you. I'm gonna try really hard from now on, Guru. I promise."

"Thank you," Saguru whispered, leaning in to kiss his thief on the cheek. "A bit of advice: don't try to do everything at once. For now, I'd be just tickled pink if you concentrated on being aware of my feelings, for one. If you'll work on that, I'll try to open up to the idea of public displays of affection; it really should be a two-way street between us."

Kaito smiled and gave a sharp nod. "'Kay."

His stomach took the opportunity to growl like a ravenous kitten, effectively ruining the tender moment.

"Hungry, Darling?" Saguru chuckled, getting to his feet and offering a hand up to his beloved.

"Starving," Kaito laughed sheepishly, taking Saguru's hand and giving it a little squeeze.

Dinner was delicious—a Japanese-style meal without any finny creatures—(Baaya herself had assured that it would be guest-friendly,) and afterwards the boys headed back into the living room where a cheery flame was burning strong in the fireplace.

"So…" Kaito hummed, popping his lips as he took a seat on the rug by the fire. "Before I got cranky and had a fit this afternoon, we were talking about telling other people about us…."

The two detectives were silent as they sat down beside their shared boyfriend.

Conan was the one that finally spoke up. "Well…I guess we have to decide who to tell, when to tell, and what to tell them. I don't know about you, Hakuba, but I think our parents are a must. At least mine and Kuroba-san, anyway."

"I should tell Baaya," Saguru sighed, nibbling on his lip. "I _will _tell Baaya. She won't be happy with you, Kai, at first, but after I explain that you're not using me or hurting me a few times, she should come around. She's rather fond of you, you know, but…my parents…when…if I ever told them, I'd first have to work up some way to tell my mother and father that I like men before I could add that my boyfriend had an additional boyfriend."

"_If_ you ever told them? What exactly do you mean 'if'?" Kaito bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from snapping. "I mean, you _have _to tell them eventually, right? How long do you think you can keep me a secret?"

"I'm…not quite sure." Saguru licked his lips nervously. "Hopefully as long as necessary. I know it's not fair, Kaito, but I'd rather not form an even bigger rift between myself and my parents."

Sensing a fight, Conan tried to make himself as small as possible.

Kaito took a deep breath, determined not to blow up a second time in one day. "Clearly we're not on the same page here. I was kind of under the impression that we were engaged to be engaged, Saguru. I'm in this for the long haul, and I thought you were too. I don't wanna have to sneak around to be with you; it's bad enough, the situation with Shinichi. I want people to know that we're together; I mean, you're not ashamed of me, are you? I mean, I know we can't do anything official, but I thought you meant to marry me…. You can't keep a relationship like that secret."

Saguru sighed with a nod of resignation. "You're right. I'm just being a coward. I'm sorry, Kaito. I swear to you, it may take a couple months or so, but I _will_ tell them about you…even if they do disown me."

"Thank you," Kaito breathed, a small smile coming to his face.

Conan let out the breath he'd unintentionally been holding. "So…we all agree that our parents have to be told, but the question of when is negotiable?"

Kaito nodded, turning to face his smaller boyfriend. "How long do I have to be patient before it's okay to just introduce myself to his family? He likes putting things like this off."

The shrunken sleuth shook his head. "Geez. Give the guy a few months, Kaito. Let him introduce you as a friend first, and maybe spend some time with them before coming right out and saying that you're dating. I mean, he sounded kind of serious when he said they might disown him."

"He's just being overly dramatic," Kaito sighed, shifting to lie down on his stomach.

"Regrettably, I was not," Saguru muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "My mother will most likely disapprove, but we don't have much contact anyway, so it's not like she _could_ get me any more out of her life, even if she wanted to; however, my father has never been shy about voicing his disdain for homosexuals. I could feasibly be tossed out on the street and written out of his will the same day I inform him that I have a boyfriend."

Kaito frowned, looking up at Saguru in astonished concern. "Guru, are you serious?"

The European sleuth nodded.

"…Then…maybe we shouldn't tell your dad," Kaito whispered. "I mean, I don't want to tear an even bigger rift between you and your family, and I know you're used to…you know…" Kaito gestured to their elegant surroundings. "…all of this. I wouldn't want to be the reason it got taken away from you."

Saguru reached out and gripped his beloved's hand. "Kai, I'd gladly give it all up for you. Don't get me wrong; it wouldn't be easy, but I'd do it without a second thought, and…my family hardly matters. You don't have to worry about driving a wedge even further between us; there's no love there in the first place. Kaito, I am _very_ serious about you, and I plan on making you my spouse when we're of age. I'd trade my family now for the possibility of a family with you…and I suppose with Kudo by proxy…in a heartbeat. Don't worry," Saguru cooed, reassuring his darling.

"So…you're going to tell your mom and dad about us?" Kaito looked away, hoping that the flickering light from the fireplace hid his blush. He lightly squeezed Hakuba's hand in return.

Saguru bit his lip. "Eventually. I swear to eventually, but…even though I just said all that…I'm still just a teenager, and I'm not quite ready to be turned out on the streets just yet. Do you think maybe we could wait until my expensive education is paid for? I'll introduce you to my family as a friend soon, but…I'd like to wait to be disowned until I'm sure that I can provide for us. Would that be acceptable?"

Kaito smiled, interlacing his fingers with Saguru's. "Okay. No rush, Guru."

"Thank you, Dove."

Conan cleared his throat, breaking up the touching scene. "You know, if you ever did get kicked out, I could always lend you a hand financially," the older detective offered nonchalantly.

"And you could come live with me!" Kaito sang.

"Thank you…both of you," Saguru replied in earnest.

"It's what friends do." Conan shrugged, trying to keep a straight face.

"Thank you, Kudo."

"Anyway," the smaller detective quickly switched topics to distract from his embarrassment. "What exactly are we going to tell everyone? How do you explain what we're doing?"

"I'm not quite sure," Hakuba hummed in thought. "It seems similar to the practice of concurrent relationships in some parts of Africa or maybe something like a harem."

"Could we maybe just tell them that we're a threesome?" Kaito tentatively proposed, biting his lip. "You know, so they don't decide to tar and feather me?"

Saguru frowned, considering the idea. "It might be simpler to offer them the explanation of an alternate lifestyle that they're already familiar with than to try to defend a practice that is completely foreign to them."

"That way we wouldn't have to tell them about your personality issues either," Conan mumbled, mulling the idea over. "I guess I could go for it."

"I do not mind if Kudo finds it acceptable." Saguru shrugged.

"Good. Thanks guys," Kaito sighed in relief, but then a yawn caught him by surprise.

"Still jetlagged?" Saguru chuckled.

"It's only eight o'clock," Conan snickered.

Kaito rolled his eyes. "I can't help it. I'm sleepy."

"Maybe you should turn in, Kai," the blonde suggested, patting his beloved fondly on the head.

Kaito nodded begrudgingly. "Shin-chan, you're coming too."

The chibi tantei blinked. "I am?"

"Yeah," the object of the other teens' affections laid down the law of the land. "This is a romantic, couples' getaway. There's no point in coming, if we don't act all lovey-dovey, and that's kinda hard to do when you're sleeping in another bed. We're bunking together tonight."

Conan blushed but nodded his consent.

"You get your turn tomorrow night." Kaito smirked, winking at Saguru.

Both detectives were turning scarlet.

"Just snuggling," Kaito tittered, grinning up a storm. "Geez. You two have such dirty minds."

…

(p_-)

Mikau: (It looks like he has a monocle, don't you think?) This chapter was kind of tough. Kaito was really cranky, so he was fighting me the whole time. Wouldn't do a thing I wanted him to do, but I think it turned out pretty okay. Could be better, could be worse, but I'm relatively happy with it. Please take a sec and let me know what you thought. I always appreciate your comments. They're always super helpful. Thanks in advance! Until next time!


	55. Snowy Retreat

Mikau: Hey guys! How's it going? I'm doing pretty well. Thanks so much to Aniki-xvi who reviewed last chapter. I guess no one's really reading this anymore. Serves me right for going MIA for nearly a year. Well, I have another new fic, called Demon in Thief's Clothing. I wrote it for Halloween…and because I've always wanted to make Kaito and Shinichi vampires. Hakuba regrettably becomes Kaito's minion, and Shinichi's jealous. The first chapter is mostly HakuKai, but chapter two is more KaiShin heavy. Please read the real summary. I'm not doing it justice. The second chapter of that should be up soon. Ditto the final chapter of Two for Tea. And on to the chapter.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'm pretty sure I could get free copies of my own work, and I wouldn't have to pay the big bucks to have Conan manga imported from Japan.

…

Snowy Retreat

As Kaito drifted in and out of sleep, Conan was quite content to be on teddy bear duty.

He gently stroked his mate's hair and face, studying the curve of Kaito's lips.

He sighed, realizing that they were no longer his alone. He didn't have a monopoly because Hakuba had apparently laid claim to them as well.

That worried him, and, yet, he felt conflicted.

Kaito _needed_ someone in addition to Shinichi in order to satisfy the needs of the three people contained inside of the magician, so, in a way, it was good that the "reinforcements" had arrived to give the master sleuth a reprieve. Kaito was hard to keep up with.

And yet, at the same time, Shinichi wanted to pull Kaito close, mark his neck with love-bites, and hiss "Mine!" at the other teenage detective; however, Shinichi now lacked the intense dislike of the other boy that he had had before.

Hakuba was just like him. He was madly in love with Kaito and just striving as best as he could to ensure that Kaito stayed in love with him.

It was something Shinichi could easily relate to, and it calmed the Modern Day Holmes's jealousy and contempt for Kaito's other boyfriend.

He sighed, leaning in and placing a kiss on his lover's forehead. "I love you, Kai-chan."

"Un," the sleeping magician grunted in return. "I know."

Conan blinked in surprise.

Kaito was definitely still asleep.

"Do you love me, Kaito?" Shinichi whispered experimentally.

"Mmhm," Kaito mumbled.

"How much?" Conan decided to see how long he could keep this up.

"Whole lot," the sleeping thief whispered.

"But you love Hakuba too, don't you?" the pocket-size sleuth sighed.

"Un."

"More than you love me?" Conan held his breath.

"No," Kaito responded without hesitation.

"Less than you love me?" the chibi asked hopefully.

"No," Kaito replied with the same speed.

"Who's better at kissing, me or him?" Might as well ask all of the pressing questions, since his darling was being so forthcoming at the moment.

"Same," Kaito mumbled, pulling his teddy bear a little closer.

"Kai-chan? What do you like best about me?" Shinichi had always wondered. Sure, _he_ thought he was pretty awesome—he'd never suffered from lack of self-esteem—but he'd always wondered what had won the formerly straight Kuroba Kaito over.

"Brain," Kaito replied without much thought. "It's sexy."

Conan could hardly keep from laughing. "Oh yeah? I thought you liked me for my body."

"'S nice too."

"What do you like about Hakuba?" He'd always been curious, but he really didn't know the other teen well enough to hazard a guess.

"Personality. He needs me, but I need him too. I trust him. He's my best friend," Kaito replied honestly, his subconscious lacking the usual filters.

Conan frowned.

Well. Hakuba certainly had a lot going for him, didn't he? At least it seemed like a lot when all Shinichi had was his sexy brain and nice body.

"You're better friends with him than you are with me?" Conan bit his lip.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Who I'm mad at," Kaito mumbled, squeezing his miniature boyfriend.

"If you're better friends with him most of the time, how can you say you love us the same?" Conan grumbled.

"'S true." Kaito was unable to mount a compelling defense while out cold. "I love ya differently, but I love ya the same amount."

All Shinichi could do was sigh and accept it. He'd fallen for an extremely weird, complex person.

Kaito was unique, so there was no point in trying to apply logic meant for normal people.

"Kaito, what's your favorite flower?" Conan prompted.

"Tiger lily."

"Not roses?" That was surprising.

"No. Tiger lily."

"Do you have a favorite song right now?" Conan grinned, snuggling into Kaito's chest.

"Poker Face."

"Really?" That was unexpected.

"Un."

"Which eye color do you like better: blue or gold?" Conan smirked.

"Still haven't decided which of your eyes I like better, Guru," Kaito whined.

The little detective frowned once again, "What?"

Kaito blinked, eyes opening and focusing on his mate after a minute. "Huh? Shin'chi? Was up?"

"Nothing," Conan whispered, smiling softly at his beloved. "Go back to sleep."

"'Kay." Kaito yawned, gave Conan's forehead a little peck, and conked out again, all in the span of ten seconds.

Shinichi went back to gently petting his boyfriend's hair and contemplating the darling creature that had conceded to being his.

"Shin-chan!"

Someone was shaking him.

"Shin-chan, get up!"

That was Kaito's voice. Why did the magician have to be so loud first thing in the morning?

"Shinichi, it's snowing! Let's go play," his juvenile boyfriend whined.

Shinichi just wanted to sleep, but it was then that the ticklefest began, and he found himself wide awake in seconds.

"K-Kaito, stop! Okay! Okay! We'll go p-play!" The elder teen begged for mercy.

"Get up and get dressed," the formerly jetlagged boy instructed, bouncing off of the bed. "I'm gonna go get Saguru."

"Right," Conan yawned, forcing himself to crawl out of the nice, warm covers. He had to stifle a yelp when his bare feet touched down on the freezing hardwood floor.

Then he looked at the clock on the nightstand and found himself wanting to strangle his lover. "Kaito, it's five thirty in the freaking morning. I'm going back to sleep."

"Be up and dressed by the time I get back, or I'll spend the rest of our vacation in Guru's bed." Kaito smirked, sticking out his tongue.

"Damn thief," Conan muttered, lugging his way to the restroom down the hall.

Meanwhile, Kaito tiptoed across the hall and invited himself into his younger boyfriend's bedroom.

Saguru was still sleeping soundly, all cozy under the down comforter, completely unaware of the fact that he was about to be pounced upon.

Kaito grinned, slinking up to the bed and climbing on top of it as quietly as a housecat. He crawled over to Saguru and straddled him, leaning in and stealing a kiss.

The dozing detective slowly started to respond, lips moving lazily against his darling's.

Kaito pulled back and chuckled. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty."

Saguru smiled sleepily, reaching up to rub at his eyes. "If only I could wake up like that every morning…. Though, for your information, the princess was originally awoken by the pains of childbirth."

"Okay, then," Kaito sang, pulling down the covers and making a grab for Saguru's nightshirt. "Are you giving me permission? 'Cause we could definitely do it that way, if you want. I'm all for authenticity."

"Kaito!" Hakuba yelped, struggling for possession of his clothing.

The magician finally let go, giggling while his boyfriend blushed up a storm and slipped back into his shirt. "What?"

Saguru just shook his head, unable to keep the fond smile off of his face. "Nothing."

"Good morning, Guru." Kaito grinned.

"Good morning, Kai," Saguru cooed, tucking one of the many wild strands of Kaito's hair behind his ear.

"Let's go play in the snow," the older of the two exclaimed like a child, tugging on Saguru's sleeve.

The detective consulted his pocket watch and sighed. "Really? _This_ early?"

Kaito smiled innocently. "Yes?"

"Breakfast first." Saguru shook his head, but got up anyway.

"Sweetness," Kaito giggled, popping up to his feet and scrambling to the bathroom where Conan was currently taking a shower. "You still awake in there, Shin-chan?"

"Yeees," the sleuth (who was not a morning person until his second cup of java) grumbled. "Sometimes I hate you and your energy. It's like you're on a permanent sugar high."

"Yeah, yeah. You love me," Kaito chuckled, throwing his clothes on the towel rack and jumping in alongside his mate. "Move over."

"Kaito," Conan whined, trying not to look at his lover's nude glory.

"What? It saves time and water. Besides, it's not like you haven't seen it all before…and had most of it in your mouth."

Conan rolled his eyes and continued washing his hair.

Saguru debated turning around, exiting as quietly as possible, and going to find another bathroom in which to brush his teeth. Instead, he cleared his throat and announced his presence. "Perhaps it's a few seconds too late, but I just wanted to let the both of you know that I'm here to brush my teeth."

Conan face-palmed with an over-exaggerated sigh. "You know what? I don't care."

"Brush away, Guru." Kaito shrugged, stealing some shampoo. "And feel free to join us, if you want; there's room."

"Maybe next time," Saguru sighed, getting out his toothpaste.

Kaito finished up his shower in about thirty seconds, so he grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist and stepped out, nearly causing the more conservative of his two boyfriends to choke on his toothbrush.

"Hurry up, Shin-chan. Before the snow stops," he threw over his shoulder as he made his way back to his room to get dressed, thinking nothing of parading around in the towel.

Saguru sighed, spitting out the excess toothpaste. "You know, Kudo, he's a tad…hard to take in the morning. Why do we love him again?"

"I think it has something to do with his mind," Conan grumbled, splashing some water on his face to help him wake up. "I like the way it works…. It's kind of like a puzzle. Mostly I think it's his body, though, 'cause his personality sucks," the not-child laughed.

Saguru joined in with a chuckle. "Yes, that must be it."

Once they were all finally dressed, the other two practically had to drag Kaito into the kitchen to eat.

"Breakfast first," Saguru reminded.

"But I wanna go play in the snow," the magician pouted. "I never really got the chance to when I was a kid after my dad…wasn't there to take me anymore…. Besides, it never gets this deep in Tokyo, and I can't just hop on my private jet and go someplace with snow whenever I want like you two can, so I want to enjoy it while I have the chance."

Saguru smiled fondly at his love, giving Kaito's messy hair a good tussle. "This far north, the snow stays on the ground practically all winter long. It's not going anywhere…and neither are you unless you eat a good breakfast. We're going to make pancakes and eggs together; any objections?"

Appeased, Kaito shook his head.

Conan shrugged.

Saguru nodded, getting out the ingredients and dividing up the tasks. "Kai, if you want to start cutting up the fruit while I get Kudo some coffee, and then we can all make the batter together?"

The magician nodded and set to work while Saguru dug out the coffee supplies for his much shorter co-boyfriend. He didn't bother getting out the sugar or creamer, knowing that Kudo liked his coffee strong enough to strip paint.

"Thank you, Hakuba," Conan sighed in absolute bliss as he took his first sip.

"Not at all," the Brit assured, picking out one of the medium-sized mixing bowls.

They pulled over a stool for Conan, and all three of them took turns adding ingredients and stirring the mixture.

Once everyone had eaten his fill, they'd cleaned up, and Kudo had had two more cups of coffee, they were finally ready to bundle up and head out into the snow.

Kaito laughed in glee, running about like a lively Jack Russell terrier as soon as he was permitted outside.

Saguru and Conan watched as their boyfriend frolicked out in the cold.

"He's insane," the elder detective chuckled.

"He's living life to the fullest." Saguru shrugged, tucking his hands inside his pockets.

Shinichi thought about it for a moment before replying. "And we're not, are we?"

Hakuba shook his head sadly. "I know I'm not, but I refuse to run around like a lunatic unless you do it too."

Just then, Conan was beamed by a snowball.

"Come on, you two!" Kaito shouted back at his harem. "Play!"

Saguru broke out in an ungentlemanly fit of half-stifled laughter at the perturbed look on Conan's face, but then he too was hit. He frowned. "I say we put our differences aside once more and get him."

"Agreed," the shrunken detective ripped off his gloves and grabbed some ammunition before charging at his phantom thief.

Saguru followed shortly behind, grabbing some snow and forming it into a lopsided, vaguely ball-like shape.

Kaito just laughed, taking off at a run into the forest where there would be more cover. "Come and get me, suckers!"

After twenty minutes of pursuing their target without landing a hit and only getting pelted with snowballs for their efforts, the detectives were beginning to grow weary of this game.

Sensing that he was losing his playmates' interest, Kaito held up the timeout hand signal and trotted back over to his boyfriends. "So…you guys kinda suck at this."

"You forget that you run and avoid getting hit professionally," Saguru coughed, the cold really getting to his lungs.

"Yeah. It's not that we're bad, it's just that you're on a whole other level." Conan shrugged as he caught his breath.

"How about a new game?" Kaito smirked. "One of our old standbys: tag."

"I suppose Kudo and I are 'it' like usual?" Saguru smiled.

Kaito nodded. "Yep. Just like usual, but this time there's an added twist to make things…interesting."

"Twist?" Conan's ears perked up.

"Mmhm. Whoever catches me first can make me do anything they want." The magician smirked suggestively.

Saguru blushed.

Conan licked his lips. "_Anything_?"

"Anything," Kaito confirmed. "But make it fun, please. Don't make me do something stupid like rearrange your sock drawer. That's boring."

"Bet I can catch him before you," Conan chuckled, egging his love rival on.

"Oh, really?" Saguru smiled politely. "How much are you willing to bet? Because I believe I'm going to mop the floor with you."

"Loser does whatever the winner says," Conan challenged.

"That has possibilities," Saguru chuckled. "You're on, Kudo."

"Nothing too mean or embarrassing, though," Kaito amended. "This is supposed to be fun."

The detectives shook on it while Kaito took a ten second head start.

"Ready?" Saguru asked, turning towards Kaito's retreating back and taking his mark.

"On three or after?" Conan smirked.

"On three," Saguru clarified quickly. "He's getting away."

"Three!" They both shouted, taking off at a dead run, each determined to win the prize and gain the upper hand over their opponent.

Kaito was headed into the woods again, providing the detectives with plenty of obstacles and challenges.

Things got tricky when the kaitou started scaling the trees, leaping from one to another. It was hard to look up to keep track of their target while simultaneously making sure they didn't collide with any of the flora.

It was during one of those moments when Saguru took his eyes off the thief for a second that he lost sight of the magician.

He spun around, searching the trees for his prey, but Kaito was nowhere to be found.

At least Kudo was a few yards away, looking similarly lost.

Then he heard that distinctive laugh and felt Kaito bop him on the head before the brunette took off running.

Saguru growled, doing an about-face and sprinting after his boyfriend.

Conan caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and darted after the other two, quickly gaining ground despite the disadvantage of his much shorter legs.

Kaito soon took to the trees again, swinging like a monkey and hopping from limb to limb.

There was a deafening snap as the branch Kaito had grabbed broke, sending the magician falling a good six feet to the ground.

"Kaito!" both detectives shouted, racing to their beloved.

Conan got there first, but Saguru was only a step or two behind. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah," Kaito groaned. "The snow padded my landing, but…my butt hurts."

"Thank goodness," Saguru sighed, collapsing into the snow beside the other two.

"Good," Conan breathed with a little bit of a chuckle. "In that case…" He reached out and poked the tip of Kaito's nose. "Tag. I win."

Kaito blinked stupidly for a minute before breaking out into hardy laughter. "Yeah, I guess you do. Okay. Whadda ya want from me?" The magician smirked, eagerly awaiting his task.

"Kiss him." Conan nodded to Hakuba.

"Say what?" Kaito looked back and forth between the two detectives.

"Kiss him," Conan repeated. "Like you really mean it. Tongue and everything."

"W-Why?" Saguru stuttered.

"'Cause I've recently discovered that I'm a bit of a voyeur." The smallest teen shrugged, looking expectantly at the other detective.

Kaito glanced tentatively at Saguru, asking for permission with his eyes.

"Too embarrassed?" Conan goaded. "How can you say you love him when you won't even kiss him?"

Saguru snorted, turning to face Kaito. He nodded, determination set firmly into his face.

Kaito leaned in and lightly pressed his lips to Saguru's.

Saguru stiffened, tensing up no matter how he tried to relax.

It was hard doing this in front of an audience. He couldn't concentrate with another set of eyes on him. It made him anxious enough sometimes with just Kaito there.

He opened an eye to peek at the spectator and instantly regretted it. He couldn't do this. It was too weird. He began to pull back, but, in that instant, Kaito took Saguru's face in his hands and pulled the blonde back into the kiss.

The kiss turned demanding, as if Kaito was trying to say, "Don't look at him, pay attention to me. Look only at me."

Saguru gave in, focusing just on Kaito.

"You can stop now," Conan chuckled a few minutes into it. "Now, that wasn't too bad, was it?" The shrunken sleuth directed his comment at the other detective. "Try to get used to it for all of our sakes."

Saguru nodded, finally understanding what Kudo had been getting at.

Kaito smirked, getting to his feet and brushing the snow off. "Come on. Enough running around for now; let's build a snowman!"

The other two slowly peeled themselves off of the ground and followed Kaito back towards the house.

After making a snowman family, doing snow angels, and having yet another snowball fight, the boys filed inside for hot chocolate and lunch by order of Baaya.

…

( ^)3

Mikau: (It's a duck. The head anyway. The three is its bill. What do you think?) I had fun with this chapter; can you tell? So, how was it? Any favorite parts? Favorite lines? Least favorite parts? Isn't it nice to see everyone finally getting along? Thanks for reading guys. Reviews are always appreciated. I really do take my readers' opinions into consideration. See you next time!


	56. I'm No One

Mikau: Hello guys! It's good to see you again. As you probably gathered, I've been busy. Thank you for waiting so patiently for the new chapter, and thank you to those of you who reviewed last chapter: Aniki-xvi and Bunnyz-chan. And now, on with the show. Merry Christmas/Happy Wednesday, guys!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would have so much fun coming up with new outfits for Conan. I'd be as bad as his mother, dressing him up. But, he's so cute! Am I right?

…

I'm No One

The rest of the day was spent warming up inside, playing games, and watching movies.

By the time night fell, all three of the boys were ready to turn in, even though it was still a little early.

Hakuba stifled a yawn as he read the same sentence of his book for a fourth…or perhaps fifth? time. He was really only still awake because Kaito had promised to come and join him for cuddling "in just a sec", although that had been nearly fifteen minutes ago. (Fourteen minutes and fifty-two point three seconds, by his count.)

Still. It _was_ Christmas Eve, and they were expected to spend time together.

Finally, there came a tentative knock on the door.

Saguru's brow furrowed. If it were Kaito, he would have just barged right in and made himself at home. "Come in?"

"Sa-Saguru?" Kaito (?) gulped.

The voice was a lot softer and just a teensy bit higher-pitched than his boyfriend's.

Very strange, but there was Kaito's head hesitantly poking around the door, sneaking a peek at him.

"Kaito?" Saguru took off his reading glasses and raised an eyebrow at the suddenly flighty brunette.

"Y-Yes?" Kaito yelped.

"Don't just stand in the hallway; come in," the detective urged, wondering what had gotten into his little space cadet now.

"R-Right." Kaito nibbled nervously on his lip as he stepped into Saguru's room, shutting the door behind him. "S-Sorry to keep you waiting. I j-just…" The alien that had replaced his boyfriend started playing with his hair and fidgeting, reminding Saguru very much of a young child. "I was a little worried about seeing you," the Kaito lookalike blushed, finally glancing up and making eye contact.

"Why? Kaito, what's wrong?" Saguru demanded, getting to his feet and approaching his boyfriend.

Kaito stuttered a few times before finally getting out "N-Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Dove." Saguru frowned, wrapping an arm around Kaito's waist and gently cupping his cheek, effectively trapping the thief and forcing him to meet Saguru's gaze.

Kaito's entire body was trembling, and his eyes begged Saguru to just understand. "I…I'm just happy…and nervous, but…you're looking at me, aren't you? I mean, really looking at _me_."

Saguru blinked as it all started to make sense. "You're…the first Kaito, aren't you? The one they call No1."

Kaito nodded, tears beginning to spill down his cheeks as he smiled.

"I'm sorry," Saguru quickly apologized, removing his arms from No1's personal space. "I must be making you uncomfortable; I mean, we hardly know each other."

"N-No," Kaito replied instantly, wrapping his own arms around Saguru's neck with a gulp. "I…I like this. I feel like…like I know you, even though you don't know me. I'm awake inside of 2.0 and Kid, I just…I've never come out before. I was too weak, and…actually, I didn't even want to…before now anyway, but…I wanted to see you in person."

That pleading look in the child's eyes tugged at Saguru's heart.

He placed a hand lightly on No1's hip, leaning in and wiping away the tears. "Well, it's very nice to meet you in person, Kuroba Kaito. I have a feeling we'll be very good friends."

"N-Nice to meet you too," Kaito giggled, looking away and blushing.

He was actually rather adorable.

Saguru wouldn't mind if his boyfriend acted this docile more often. It triggered his protective side. "Kaito, I was just about to settle in for the night; would you like to join me in bed to snuggle?"

The younger Kuroba nodded enthusiastically, eagerly diving into the covers and making himself at home.

Saguru pulled the comforter up around them before lying down on his side to face No1. "Kaito, let me know if I'm doing something wrong or making you uncomfortable, okay? I'm not quite used to dealing with people…of your age bracket. How old are you again?"

"Eighteen," Kaito chuckled. "…but…this is the first time I've been out since I was about nine. 2.0 and Kid say that I'm, like, ten, but I think I've been doing a lot of growing up this year. I mean, I fell in love for the first time…well, since Aoko, and I…" Kaito tried his best to look anywhere but at Saguru's face as his own turned scarlet. "I got kissed, and I went on dates, and I…"

The words got caught in his throat.

He choked on them as tears started falling yet again. "…and I…I had my virginity taken away, so I'm practically an adult, r-right?" the child hiccupped, burying his face in the pillow and beginning to sob.

Saguru was at a loss for words as it all dawned upon him. He'd known that Kaito and Kid had been physically intimate with Kudo, but he hadn't realized that No1 had been there too, seeing, feeling, and experiencing the same things—a little kid forced to do things like that with someone he had a strong dislike for just because the majority of the other personalities inhabiting a body that had originally been _his_ had outvoted him.

"God, Kaito…Sweetheart, look at me," Saguru breathed, pulling the trembling child into his arms.

Kaito shook his head, screwing his eyes shut. "I-I'm dirty. He made me dirty. What he did to me…what they all made me do…I…I'm sorry," Kaito wailed, voice breaking several times throughout.

Saguru drew the other boy closer, gently stroking from the top of his messy brown hair all the way down his back. "Kaito, listen to me. You're not dirty, and you've nothing to apologize for. You didn't do anything wrong; your two roommates can be absolute idiots when they don't think with the brain in their heads, and it's their stupidity that you should blame, not yourself. What happened to you is not your fault, and, Kaito, it in no way changes the way I feel about you."

The sobs waned, and Kaito hesitantly looked up. "W-What? You…? No. You love 2.0, not me."

Saguru bit his lip. "Kaito, while I am not in love with you like I am your other personality, I still care about you. Seeing you in pain like this breaks my heart, and I can't help but want to protect you and make it all better. I don't know you very well, so at the moment, that's the best that I can do, but, if you were to come out more often and we got to know each other better, I could very well fall in love with you yet. So, please, don't cry, Kaito. I can't imagine how horrible it's been for you, but I can assure you that everything is going to be alright from now on. I'm here for you."

Kaito blushed, the tears slowly drying up. He nodded, not yet trusting his voice.

"Good." Saguru smiled, mopping up his little dove's face with a tissue from the nightstand. "Now, how about we get some rest? You're tired, aren't you?"

"No," Kaito moped, wrapping his arms around Saguru's torso. "I wanna spend more time with you. I don't know if I'll be me when I wake up in the morning, and I don't know when you'll get to see me again."

"Okay," Saguru acquiesced, continuing to stroke Kaito like a giant cat. "What did you have in mind exactly?"

"Let's talk," the boy proposed.

"Do you have a specific topic you'd like to talk about?" Saguru laid his head down on the pillow so that his cheek brushed Kaito's forehead.

"I wanna talk about me," No1 decided, "…so that you can start falling in love with _me_ instead of 2.0."

"Alright. I'd be glad to hear all about you."

"First of all, I'm not a jerk like 2.0. He's always teasing Aoko and pretending to be a pervert. _I_ would never do that. My mom always told me that I was the sweetest little boy she ever met, and while there were times when I played practical jokes, I was never mean to anybody like 2.0 is. My dad always told me to respect other people and be nice to girls. I always did my best to do what he said, 'cause I love my dad a lot…" Kaito began.

He talked a little bit about what he could remember of his childhood, and most of it was about his father, so there were some bouts of tearfulness, but the child soldiered on regardless with a little encouragement from Saguru. He asked the detective some questions as well until he finally got tired and began to yawn.

"Saguru? Will you tell me a bedtime story?" Kaito whispered when he could no longer keep his eyes open.

"A bedtime story?" Hakuba's eyebrows pinched together as he racked his brain for something he could use. An idea came to him, but he wondered if it were age appropriate. Then again, he had read the story at age seven, and No1 appeared to be mentally somewhere between ten and thirteen. "Let me get the lights and then we'll begin."

"Un," Kaito grunted, releasing his hold on the sleuth momentarily. He shivered at the loss of heat, and only curled up against Saguru more closely once the blonde returned.

"Once upon a time," Saguru began, "there was a doctor named John Watson who had just come home to England from the war in Afghanistan…"

…

:*:

(v*)(*v)

Mikau: Penguins kissing under the mistletoe. I've come to the realization that their beaks don't show up. They're supposed to be greater than/less than signs. Sigh. Well, there you go. New chapter. Sorry again that it's taken me so long. Work and school have taken up a majority of my time the past month what with finals and everything. Being a florist around the holidays has kept me pretty busy too. Thanks so much for being understanding and supportive, guys. Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts about the chapter. What did you think of No1? Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you next time as well!


	57. Meeting the Mother-In-Law

Mikau: Hi guys! Did you have a nice Boxing Day? I spent the day putting giftware from the flower shop I work at in boxes for customers. All the Christmas stuff went 50% off the day after Christmas, so we sold a lot of it. Anyway I want to advertise some of the other fics I've been writing lately. I discovered that there's a Magic Kaito page on ff dot net, so I've been writing over there too. Check it out, if you feel so inclined. I've also got a few new pieces over here on the DC page too. Meeting on a Bad Day is a two-shot story full of KaiShin fluff, and Over the Edge is a heart-wrenching tale with HakuKaiShin fluff mixed in for good measure. I've also got a crack fic featuring the Gosho Boys called Pragmatic, Like a Colony of Wolves. Check out the summaries for more info.

Anyway, I'd sincerely like to thank those of you that reviewed last chapter: Moonstar Daughter of Hades, AK, Aniki-xvi, and Bunnyz-chan. After my comeback, CTM was only getting a review or two per chapter at most, so I thought maybe that people weren't really interested anymore, and I was considering deleting it and spending my time working on something else. I was really glad and grateful when so many of you took the time to review last chapter and let me know that you were still reading and that it was still good. It really cheered me up and encouraged me to keep going, so here's the new chapter. Thanks again, guys!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I honestly wouldn't change a thing. Mad prompts to Aoyama-sensei for keeping it up this long.

…

Meeting the Mother-in-Law

Kaito woke up the next morning tired.

No1 had stayed up to listen to the entire recitation of A Study in Scarlet, and 2.0 was paying the price for it. It had actually been an interesting story, if not a little too dumbed down for his intellect, but he hadn't been the intended audience, had he? and Saguru's rendition had probably been just about right for No1.

Unfortunately, the running and playing out in the snow the previous day had drained him, and he'd really needed the rest that he had missed out on.

Kaito closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep, but the sun was already up, and it was reflecting rather brightly off of the snow. He needed one of those eye masks.

Giving up, he detangled himself from his best friend and left the blonde to rest, going to bother his other boyfriend.

He found the miniature detective tossing and turning in a state very similar to his own. "Merry Christmas, Shin-chan. Can't sleep?"

"Merry Christmas, Kai-chan. I've been up for about thirty minutes now, but it's too early to get out of bed."

"But it's too bright out to get back to sleep," Kaito sighed, climbing under the covers and sidling up to his mate.

"Weren't you supposed to be with Hakuba?" Conan raised an eyebrow at his bedmate.

"Sleeping Beauty needs his beauty sleep, and I'd only disturb him if I stayed." The magician shrugged.

"So you came to bother me," the older boy snorted. "I see."

"You probably weren't up as late as we were," Kaito chuckled, stretching so that he took up as much room as possible.

"And what exactly were you two doing that you were up late?" Conan scoffed. "I doubt Mr. I'm-A-Gentleman was making good use of his night with you."

Kaito laughed softly, shrugging again. "Actually, he spent the night with No1. They're such a cute couple it's disgusting. No1's all innocent and defenseless, and Saguru just eats that kind of thing up. He _loves_ playing Prince Charming, defender of the weak and protector of the downtrodden. I don't know. I think it gives him a self-esteem boost or makes him feel like a man or something. I don't profess to understand what goes on in that pretty little head of his _all_ the time, but I guess I'm not weak and needy enough to satisfy him. At this rate, I'm gonna have to worry about losing my boyfriend to myself."

"Did you come in here just to complain about your boyfriend?" Conan snickered as Kaito pouted.

"…No," Kaito fibbed. "Not _just_ to complain about him. I have a feeling he'll be ticked at me when he wakes up, so I decided to clear out of there. Don't want to start Christmas off with a fight. We had enough of those the other day when I was grumpy." Kaito smiled sheepishly at his smaller boyfriend. "Plus, what better way to spend Christmas than with the guy I love?"

"You mean the _other_ guy you love." Conan rolled his eyes, not really caring much one way or the other.

Kaito was his; the magician had sworn his fidelity enough times that Shinichi was beginning to stop worrying about Kaito's loyalty, and, besides, it was just Hakuba. The guy was pretty okay—Shinichi was even beginning to like him half the time—but Shinichi was confident in his ability to outdo the other detective now that he had gotten to know him better.

"Shin-chan, you _know_ I love you," Kaito pouted, sticking out his lower lip.

Conan took the opportunity to playfully nip the exposed flesh. "Yeah, I'm finally starting to get that."

"Don't tease," Kaito whined, nibbling on the outer shell of his lover's ear. "You know we can't fool around here, and I'll be in a bad mood all day if you get me riled up and leave me hanging."

"I know the bed's off limits, but there's always the shower." Conan smirked. "…If you weren't such a screamer."

"Kid and I like the sound of my voice." Kaito shrugged.

…

Baaya was in the kitchen making waffles when Kaito and Conan came in for breakfast.

The boys helped her finish up and swore that they could make sure Saguru got his portion and clean up by themselves so that she could finish up her packing for London.

As soon as the kindly housekeeper was gone, Kaito got out the coffeemaker and set it up as Saguru had done the day before.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Conan looked up at his mate with giant, shinning eyes.

"Yeah, but I never get sick of hearing it," Kaito laughed, getting out a mug.

They took turns feeding each other while making googoo eyes like a pair of lovebirds and then took care of the dishes together.

Afterwards, Kaito went to go wake up the third leg of their love triangle and bring him breakfast in bed.

The blonde detective was still out cold, so Kaito tiptoed in and set the breakfast tray down on the nightstand while he climbed up onto the bed.

He brushed Saguru's bangs out of his face and smiled down at his boyfriend, admiring Saguru's good looks while plotting what to do to wake him up. Smirking, Kaito pressed his lips to Saguru's neck and began to suck and nibble lightly, deciding to try to spell out as much of his initials as possible before the detective stirred.

Sadly, his masterpiece was left unfinished.

Saguru woke up before Kaito could even finish the first 'K'.

"Kai?" Saguru mumbled, blinking away the sleep.

"Merry Christmas, Guru," the prankster whispered, giving his darling a quick butterfly kiss before moving out of the way so Saguru could sit up. "I brought you breakfast in bed."

Saguru smiled, propping himself up and accepting the tray from Kaito. "Thank you, Dove." He gave his boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Kai. You didn't make these yourself, did you?"

"Nah. I just helped Baaya, but one day I will. Dig in. They're super yummy; Shin-chan and I already had our share. I thought we'd let ya sleep in since you were up so late with No1 last night."

Saguru nodded, biting his lip. "Kaito, sorry to spoil the moment, Dove, but we need to talk about your predecessor."

Kaito sighed, nodding in resignation. "Yeah, I know. Well, _now_ I know. Sure he'd whined when it was happening, but he hadn't said a thing about it again until he broke down in front of you last night. I…I didn't know he felt that way."

Saguru sighed in relief. "Good. It seems you already feel sufficiently guilty about it, so I won't have to scold you or anything. That makes my job easier. Now, what are we going to do about this?"

"I don't know," Kaito groaned. "I can only think of one solution to our problem, and it's not gonna happen. I only get to see Shinichi once a month for four hours, and no one's gonna tell me how I'm allowed to spend that time. I don't care if No1 doesn't like him, Shinichi is my boyfriend, just the same as you. We're in a committed relationship, and people in healthy committed relationships make love to each other. What does he _want_ me to do? I've got the libido of at least two teenage boys to deal with; celibacy is not an option."

Saguru exhaled slowly, reaching out and playing with a strand of Kaito's hair. "I know. It's not my place to say, so you two will have to talk it out yourselves."

Kaito nodded, leaning into Saguru's hand. "You should eat your breakfast before it gets cold," he urged.

…

They arrived at one of the Hakuba manors in London right around five o'clock that evening, just in time for dinner.

They ate their fill, were given the grand tour, and spent about half an hour changing and unpacking before they set out to explore the city a little.

Of course, it being a holiday, there were a lot of things that weren't open, but, for Shinichi, just being able to stroll around and see the modern day version of where his hero had once walked (well, at least in the stories) was more than enough.

Hakuba enjoyed playing tour guide and sharing his love of all things Holmes with another living, breathing human being. He'd never been able to openly be such a geek before, and he found the experience to be quite freeing.

Kaito could care less about the fictional detective, but his boyfriends were having the time of their lives, and the scenery was, to say the least, enchanting. So long as his nerds were happy, he was happy. He tried to act interested; after all, all they wanted was to share something that they were passionate about with him.

When they arrived home that night they stood awkwardly in the hall outside their bedroom doors, waiting to see whom Kaito would go with.

The magician bit his lip and looked back and forth between the two. "You know, we could all sleep together, if you're both okay with that. I mean, it is Christmas and all…well, maybe it would have been better on Christmas Eve, but…"

"_He's_ the one that'd have a problem with it." Conan shrugged.

Kaito glanced hesitantly at Saguru.

The blonde took a deep breath and nodded. "I suppose I could live with that. Let's sleep in your room, though, Kaito. That way, if either of us ever feels uncomfortable, we can each just go back to our own room."

Kaito's smile practically shone, it was so bright. He threw his arms around Saguru's neck and giggled. "Thanks, Guru. You're the best."

"How exactly are we going to do this?" Conan asked, craning his neck to look up at the taller teens. "Kaito and I usually sleep facing each other with my arms wrapped around his chest."

"Saguru and I sleep kind of like that too," Kaito hummed. "…Except I'm kind of more on top of him than when _we_ share a bed, Shin-chan. Well, maybe we could do what we usually do, but Shin-chan would be between me and Guru."

"No offense, Hakuba, but I'd rather not sleep next to you again unless I absolutely have to," Conan snorted.

Kaito raised an eyebrow in suspicion at his boyfriends. "Have you guys been cheating on me?"

"No. Kudo is referring to when we had to share your only spare futon when you were shot, Kai," Saguru explained. "…And he squirms. I'd rather not sleep next to him either. I have an idea, though."

"Yeah?" Kaito cocked his head to the side.

Saguru motioned for the other two to follow him into Kaito's bedroom. "Lie down on your back in the middle."

Kaito did as instructed while Saguru situated himself to Kaito's right, resting with his head nestled against Kaito's neck and shoulder and his arm snaking under Kaito's, coming to lie on Kaito's chest.

"Kudo, you do the same on the other side."

The other detective got into place and settled in.

"This way you can still move, Kaito, and neither of us has to deal with the other. Is everyone comfortable?" Saguru held his breath.

"Un," Kaito grunted, already drifting off to sleep.

"If he's happy and I'm not by you, I'm happy." Conan shrugged, closing his eyes.

"Good night, Dove…Kudo," Saguru chuckled.

"Night, Kai-chan…Hakuba," Conan responded, but Kaito was already sound asleep.

…

The next day was full of more sightseeing and Holmes talk, but Kaito didn't really mind. He was actually kind of having fun.

Kid was busy making a list of all the places he wanted to visit when they came next time, and No1 was actually trying to follow Saguru and Shinichi's conversation, having recently become a Holmes fan himself. 2.0, however, was just taking in the scenery and basking in his loved ones' company.

They stopped at a quaint café to eat lunch and decide what they wanted to do next.

Kaito scooped Conan up from his chair and set the mini-tantei down on his lap, circling his arms around the smaller teen like a stuffed animal. "I'd like to meet your family," he announced.

Saguru bit his lip but nodded all the same. "I figured you would ask. Would meeting my mother suffice? I hardly have any contact with the rest of my family; it would be…odd…to say the least to visit them simply in order to introduce a friend. Perhaps, once I've told my parents about our relationship, you could start coming to family parties as a friend in order to meet the rest of my family. Is that acceptable?"

Kaito thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Okay, but will you introduce me to your Grandpa once we get back to Japan? It kind of sounded like you were close to him; I don't mind if you just introduce me as a friend for now, but…"

"Alright," Saguru conceded. "Well, let's start with my mother. I checked her schedule, and she should be at work right now. We'll go see her after lunch."

"Is it really okay to bother her at work?" Conan frowned, cocking his head to the side at the menu. He couldn't decide what sounded good at the moment besides fish and chips.

"It's fine. She's a fashion designer—actually owns her own line of clothing—and she's supposedly getting ready for a show right now. The models will be grateful for our interruption. I imagine she's screeching at them, nitpicking over every little thing, at the moment."

Kaito's brow scrunched up as he wondered just what kind of person Saguru's mom was.

…

About an hour later they arrived in front of an enormous building with a big griffin logo on the sign.

Hakuba walked right in without hesitation and went up to one of the receptionists while Kaito and Conan hung back, admiring the ornate lobby complete with koi pond. "Good afternoon, Marissa. Is my mother in?"

"M-Mr. Griffin! Good afternoon, Sir. I hope you're well. Your mother is currently reviewing the outfits for the showcase next week. Shall I lead the way?" Marissa replied nervously.

"Yes, please," Saguru chuckled, smiling gently to put the girl at ease.

Kaito blinked, thinking, _"Who the heck are you? Mr. Griffin?"_

It had never occurred to him before that Saguru might have a different persona he used in England than the one he used in Japan.

Here, Saguru _Griffin_ seemed to be a confident, smooth-talking rich kid. Actually, that wasn't that different from the Hakuba Saguru that had first shown up to chase the Kaitou Kid that February day that now seemed so long ago. Neither of them was the _real_ Saguru that Kaito had come to know and love.

They were guided to a large auditorium with a stage that jutted out into the audience. People in strange attire were slowly parading in and out, one after another, and at the end of the runway, a thin, blonde woman was shouting instructions, criticism, and (very rarely) praise.

Marissa led them up to the foot of the stage and asked politely that they wait while she went to inform the boss that they were there. "Ms. Griffin? I'm terribly sorry to interrupt you at such a busy time, but your son is here to see you."

Ms. Griffin tossed a sidelong glance at her employee. "My son? My son is supposed to be…no. That's right. Nana called to say that she'd be bringing him home for the holidays. Well, make up some excuse, and tell him I'm busy."

Saguru sighed, rolling his eyes. "You can tell me yourself, Mother."

Ms. Griffin froze, body stiffening at the sound of her son's voice. "Sa-chan," she sang as she slowly turned to face them. "It's so good to see you, Honey!"

Saguru motioned for the other two to follow him up to the end of the runway. "Don't lie, Mother. It's unbecoming."

"So, why the hell are you here? I'm working." The businesswoman dropped the act, shooing Marissa away and raising an eyebrow at her son and his entourage.

"I'm here because my friend wanted to meet you." Saguru stood his ground, stepping out of the way so that Kaito and Conan could move forward. "The boy is Edogawa Conan. He's a fellow detective that sometimes chases the Kaitou Kid with me."

She made a thoughtful noise as she patted Conan on the head and greeted him in Japanese. "It's nice to meet you, Conan-kun. I'm Helen Griffin, Saguru's mother."

"Edogawa Conan. Enchanted." Conan bowed.

Next Saguru nodded to Kaito. "And this…is my classmate and best friend, Kuroba Kaito. He's Kid's biggest fan."

Helen had a keen eye for details. She could look at a dress and tell you if a single sequin was missing. She did not get to the top of the fashion world solely on her good looks, and she saw the way her son placed his hand at the small of his supposed friend's back, the way they subconsciously leaned toward one another, the way the other boy accepted the familiar touch without showing the slightest sign of discomfort. She saw the way Saguru was biting his lip anxiously and watching this "Kaito" like a hawk, ready to step in and intervene should anything happen. Helen saw all of this and smiled.

Kaito stepped forward, put on his most charming grin, and kissed her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Griffin. Are you sure you're old enough to be his mother? You don't look a day over twenty-five." He then pulled out a rose and handed it to her.

Helen just laughed, taking the rose and admiring it. "My. Aren't you a charmer? For your information, I'm _thirty_-five, and you can call me Helen. It's nice to meet you, Kaito-kun. You wouldn't happen to be single, would you? I've always had a bit of a thing for Asian men."

At this, both Saguru and the Edogawa boy stiffened, but Kaito just laughed, stepping back in line with Saguru. "I'm sorry, Helen-san. My heart is no longer mine to give away, and I'm not planning on getting it back until death do us part."

Helen smiled sadly as she watched a soft smile form on her son's lips. "One more question: would you allow me to take you on a clothes shopping spree?"

Kaito blinked. "Helen-san, I could never let you spend money on me like that. I—"

"—Let me rephrase the question: would you _have fun_ if I took you on a clothes shopping spree?"

Kaito blinked again. "Probably. I like shopping for clothes; I go with my mom all the time."

"Excellent," Helen chuckled in glee before turning to glare at her son. "Look, it's no secret that we don't like each other much, but I like _him_, so don't you dare mess this up, Saguru. Understand?"

Saguru stared blankly at his mother, mouth opening and closing several times. "Wh—? How…? Wha?"

"You heard me," Helen began to speak louder. "You screw things up with him, and I'll make sure I tell your Grandmother that you like boys. Are we clear?"

Saguru was still stunned into silence, but Kaito jumped in, putting an arm around his boyfriend's waist. "Don't worry, Helen-san. Saguru's wonderful. If anyone's going to screw up this relationship, it's gonna be me."

"So…you…are not going to disown me?" Saguru stuttered.

Helen shrugged. "No. Personally, I think the whole idea of it is a little gross, but what you do in bed is none of my business. I think people who try to pass laws dictating what people like you are and are not allowed to do…like my mother…are nosey. Just no PDA in front of me, and we'll be fine. I can't say the same for your father, though, Saguru. I know he thinks people like you are sub-human, so I wouldn't recommend telling him, but _I_ don't care. I've never been your mother Saguru; why would you want me to start pretending to be now? Go introduce him to Nana."

"R-Right." Saguru nodded, smiling softly as he tightened his hold around his boyfriend's waist. "Thank you, Mother."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Have a nice day and get off my runway." Helen waved them away, turning back to her models. Suddenly she remembered something and looked back at them again. "Oh, and Kaito-kun? Sweetie, you're welcome any time. Now that I'm a little older, I'm starting to regret not taking advantage of when Sa-chan was little and dressing him up. I'd love to take you shopping and out to lunch sometime. Don't worry about the cost. I'm an heiress _and_ an entrepreneur, so chances are I'll never be hurting for cash. Besides, it'll all be yours anyway once you and Saguru do whatever the gay equivalent of getting married is. Don't be a stranger; I've always wanted a daughter-in-law to spend time with, but this works too."

"Thanks, Helen-san," Kaito chuckled, waving goodbye. "I'll be sure to keep in touch!"

…

"Well," Saguru sighed as they exited the building. "That went better than I expected in some ways and worse in others."

"At least you didn't get kicked out." Conan shrugged, lifting his arms, signaling for Kaito to pick him up.

"Yeah, and your mom seems to like me," Kaito chuckled, scooping up his travel-sized boyfriend. "I wouldn't want her for a mom, but she seems like a fun person to be around as long as you're on her good side."

"Quite," Saguru mumbled. "I have a feeling you two are going to get along, and that scares me on so many different levels. Just thinking of what you two could do to torture me with your powers combined…" Saguru shuddered.

"At least she didn't ask about that bandage on your neck," Conan snickered.

Hakuba absentmindedly touched his fingers to the bandage covering the hickey Kaito had so graciously left there when waking the detective up. "Thank the Lord for small miracles."

"You know, you could of just put some concealer on that. You can cover up anything with makeup," Kaito replied helpfully.

"You would know," Saguru sighed, getting their Holmes Tour back on track.

…

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Mikau: I think it looks a little bit like a Union Jack. Unless this site screws up the formatting. Which has been known to happen. Anyway, I worked hard on it, so just pretend you like it, okay? Well, that was fun. I liked writing Helen Griffin. What did you guys think? Thanks so much for your continued support, guys, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter too. See you next time!


	58. Talking Man To Man

Mikau: Hello there! Happy 2014! Thanks so much for joining me once again, and thanks to the reviewers from last chapter: Aniki-xvi, Guest, Bunnyz-chan, and patternleap! I hope everyone is having an awesome New Year so far. I missed the Kouhaku because I was sleeping and then at work, and I can't find anywhere to watch it! T.T Did you guys make any New Year's resolutions? I guess mine is to continue to work towards being the best me I can be physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It's a lofty goal, but I have confidence in me. Anyway, I hope you guys like the new chapter.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I think I would have had Eisuke confess to Ran. She probably would have turned him down, but you never know. Anyway, he deserves a shot, and she deserves a sweet guy like him. Can we all agree that she's been crying over Shinichi 15+ years too long?

…

Talking Man to Man

The rest of the trip was a success in Kaito's opinion.

They slept together as they had the night before, and on their final morning in England, Helen surprised them by showing up and taking them out to a fancy breakfast.

"Only the best for the future mother of my grandchildren." Helen beamed, showering Kaito with attention. "Though, Sweetie, your taste in men is atrocious, if you were looking for someone to spend time with you. Saguru's going to be so busy he won't have a minute to spare you once he joins the force. Though, if you picked him for his money, you did well."

"I actually picked him for his personality," Kaito chuckled, enjoying his blueberry scone.

"Then you're crazy, Sweetie," Helen retorted.

"I know." Kaito shrugged.

"I swear she only likes him so much just to spite me," Saguru sighed in Conan's general direction.

She saw them off at the airport and exchanged numbers with Kaito, much to Saguru's chagrin.

"What?" Kaito grumbled. "I like her. Your mom's really funny, Guru."

Saguru began to mutter Hail Marys, praying for his salvation from the combined forces of his boyfriend and mother.

…

Kaito couldn't really sleep much on the plane, so when he got home late that night, he was exhausted. His plan was originally to drag his stuff as far as the living room and then pass out on the couch, but he was pleasantly surprised to find Hiro-san already occupying the space.

"Hey, Hiro-san. Long time no see. I'm home," the teen greeted as he collapsed into the armchair. "Is my mom…?"

"Welcome home, Kaito-kun; sorry for imposing. Chikage is at the store. She forgot something, but she assured me she'd be back shortly. She said she didn't want me to come with her, so I imagine it's some kind of gift or surprise or something embarrassing. It's been about a month since I've actually seen you; you always seem to be busy whenever I come to visit."

Kaito nodded. "Yeah. I've had stuff to do, but mainly I didn't want to get in your way. You don't come to visit me, you come to see _Mom_."

"I wouldn't mind you being there too, Kaito-kun. I enjoy your company," the psychologist urged.

Kaito just laughed. "Yeah, Hiro-san, but I'm not about to crash your date with _my mother_. It would be awkward."

The middle-aged man frowned. "Alright, but just know that you're always welcome. I'm not trying to push you out or steal Chikage from you. I'd like to spend some time getting to know _you_ as well."

Kaito smiled fondly at his mother's boyfriend. "I know, Hiro-san, but thanks for saying it anyway. Maybe a few months ago I would have had a hissy fit, but I get it, and I'm okay with you and Mom being…you know. So long as you know you're never gonna be my dad, I'm okay with letting you be my father. You love my mom, right?"

Hiro-san blushed, nervously rubbing the back of his neck as he stuttered. "Y-Yes. Yes, I do love her. I love her very much."

"Good. 'Cause she loves you. Whenever I do get the chance to talk to her lately, all it's been about is you. I've come to know a little bit about love recently, and I can tell that she's got it bad…. Hey, Hiro-san? You don't have any kids, do you? Would you want any?"

"Kaito-kun, I'd be more than happy to have you as my step-son. I know well and good that you and Chikage are a package deal," Hiro-san assured.

"I didn't mean _me_," Kaito chuckled, tossing his leg up over the arm of the chair. "I meant your own kids—babies."

Sakurai Hiro blinked, and his face went fire engine red. "I-I-I…yes. Yes, I would like children. Maybe just one, but…I did always like babies."

"Hiro-san, we need to talk, man-to-man. You _do_ know my mom's, like, forty, don't you? She doesn't have much time left to have kids, so whenever you become sure that that's what you really want, don't hesitate. I'm rooting for you," Kaito encouraged with a wink.

Hiro-san's mouth dropped open. "Th-Thank you, Kaito-kun. You don't know how much that means to me."

Kaito shrugged, shifting slightly in his seat. "No biggie. Just make sure you give me a little sister."

"I'll do my best," the older man chuckled, unable to get the smile off of his face. "So…how was England? I heard you went with Hakuba-kun and Conan-kun?"

"Yeah. It was a ton of fun. We played in the snow, and I got to meet Guru's mom. She's a fashion designer. Guru didn't want us to meet at first, but I forced him introduce me, and now we're on good terms with each other, so I bet he's really wishing he hadn't given in to me. All in all, there was waaaay too much Holmes talk since the detectives are both huge fans, but I had a really great time just hanging out with my friends."

Hiro-san smiled knowingly. "I don't know if things have changed since the last time I saw you, Kaito-kun, but you _do_ know that it _means_ something when someone flies you off to their villa halfway across the world, don't you?"

Kaito's cheeks turned rosy, and he tried to look away without making it obvious that that was what he was doing. "Yeah, so…we're kind of involved."

"You met his mother. Usually people don't begrudgingly introduce just anyone to their mother. He must consider the two of you to be more than simply 'kind of involved'. That's what I deduce from what I gathered from meeting him, anyway."

"So…I may be head-over-heels for him, and he may be a little deeper than that, but…" Kaito squirmed, face getting redder by the second. "We're probably going to get married, have two kids, and grow old together. You're lookin' at the future Mrs. Saguru Hakuba."

"I'm happy for you two." Hiro-san couldn't contain a broad grin. "I could tell Hakuba-kun cared deeply for you judging by your interactions when we first met, but, honestly, I was unsure of your feelings until recently."

"He won me over…. Hey, Hiro-san? Can I ask you a hypothetical question?" Kaito bit his lip, nervous, but figuring that the doctor could give him better objective advice than anyone else he asked.

"Of course, Kaito-kun. I hope I can give you a useful answer." Hiro-san leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

"Okay, say I have this friend…" Kaito made sure to hold Hiro-san's gaze steadily. "…no one else knows, but they've got multiple personalities."

Hiro-san's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything.

"There are three of them, and one is in love with one person, but one of the others loves somebody else. The third one is kind of trapped in the middle. He likes both of the people that his other two personalities like. They've told the people they like, and they've worked it out between them so that they're each dating the guy that likes them plus the third one that can't make up his mind…. Is the third guy a bad person?"

Hiro-san's mind was working in overdrive, trying to decipher whether or not Kaito was talking about himself or actually talking about a friend, deciding whether or not to refer Kaito to a good therapist, and trying to wrap his brain around the whole concept, so he nearly missed the last part.

He blinked when he realized that Kaito was staring expectantly at him, anxiously awaiting his answer. "Do you think that your friend is a bad person?"

Kaito's eyes flickered down and away. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because the guy's got two boyfriends. It's not fair for him to be dividing his love between the two of them. He's never gonna belong fully to either one, like they deserve. He's an indecisive, greedy wimp."

"But…each of the boyfriends has two boyfriends as well. You said your friend has three personalities and each boyfriend gets the one that likes him, plus the third personality. Everyone in the relationship besides the personalities that only like one person has two boyfriends; it's just that the two boyfriends each have boyfriends that reside in the same body," Hiro-san reasoned.

Kaito blinked, a little light coming on over his head. "So…my friend doesn't have to feel so guilty anymore?"

"No, Kaito-kun." Hiro-san shook his head slowly.

"But…is it really possible to love two different people at the same time without gypping them outta time and affection and all that?" Kaito frowned, looking pleadingly at his future step-father.

"I think it could be possible, but it would take a lot of hard work. It could be tiresome at times. It would involve being hyper-attentive and intentional. I don't know if it could work long-term, Kaito-kun, but if your friend is really serious about both guys, it can't hurt anything to try. Love is something that's worth suffering and fighting for. The rewards of loving and being loved far outweigh the pain and the strife." Hiro-san smiled gently at the teen.

"Speaking from experience?" Kaito chuckled, returning the smile.

"My pain and strife is more moral than your friend's, Kaito-kun," Hiro-san replied sadly. "But I'm glad that love won out in my case."

Kaito blinked. "Moral?"

Hiro-san nodded.

Chikage happened to return home just at that moment, and Kaito lost his opportunity to ask.

…

"Thanks again for letting me stay the night, Mouri-tantei," Kaito chuckled sheepishly, starting to peel another tangerine.

Sleeping Kogoro shrugged, cracking open his third can of beer. "Don't worry about it, Kuroba brat. You're welcome here any time."

"As long as I keep picking winners, you mean?" Kaito laughed, adjusting his hold on Conan who was hanging around his neck, half-asleep.

"Ran still wants me to force you to take half the winnings from that long-shot you picked last time. You sure you don't want any of it?" Mouri raised an eyebrow at Kaito as the boy curled up on the couch.

"Nah. I'm fine. I just picked the horse; you're the one that put your money on him." Kaito shrugged as he situated himself.

"Stop movin' so much," Conan grumbled sleepily.

Kaito chuckled, lovingly petting his boyfriend's head. "Sorry, Shin-chan. Want me to set you down? Get you some udon or rice gruel or ice cream or orange juice or something to make you feel better?"

"No. Just stay still," the little sickie muttered, burying his face in Kaito's collarbone.

"Shame he's sick for New Year's. At least he waited for you guys to get back from your trip," Mouri harrumphed, focusing his attention on the Red and White Song Battle going on on TV.

"Poor baby," Kaito cooed, nuzzling Conan's hair. "Don't worry, Kaito will take care of you."

There was a muffled sound that seemed to be one of sarcasm.

"Fine then. Suffer. See if I care," Kaito teased, turning back to the former cop. "So who do you think will win this year? Red or White?"

"Yoko-chan and the Red Team, of course!" the detective rebuked.

Kaito just nodded and focused his attention on the little bundle in his lap. "You really okay down there?"

"Un," Conan grunted.

Frowning, the magician touched his forehead to Conan's. "Shin-chan, you're burning up."

"'M fine."

"Hey, Mouri-tantei? Could you call up and have Ran-chan bring down some medicine. I'd run up and tell her myself, but I don't want to move him too much, and he's kind of clinging to me like a baby koala."

"Sure." The older gentleman shrugged, relaying the information to his daughter.

"Shin-chan? You want me to cancel my plans with Guru tomorrow and stay and take care of you?" Kaito offered, a little worried now that he really looked his boyfriend over.

Conan shook his head.

"You sure? He'd understand. We were only going to go to a shrine together."

Conan shook his head again and grumbled. "We agreed. I get you tonight; he gets you tomorrow. Don't cancel; he'll get the wrong idea."

"Okay, but call me, if you need me. I'll bring him with me," Kaito assured.

"He'd feel awkward," Conan argued.

"He'll get over it," Kaito sighed. "I'm worried about you."

"Just a cold." Conan shrugged, and that seemed to be the end of the argument.

A minute or two later, Ran brought down the udon and the medicine anyway.

At the end of the night, the White Team walked away the winners, and Kaito and Ran talked quietly while Conan slept and Kogoro wailed at his precious Yoko-chan's defeat.

"Any New Year's resolutions, Ran-chan?" Kaito whispered.

"No." She shrugged. "I'm pretty much happy the way things are."

"Good." Kaito smiled, holding Conan's limp form a little closer.

"What about you, Kaito-kun?"

"I…" Kaito bit his lip, really thinking about it. "I'm gonna try to be more honest with the people I care about."

Aoko's face flashed in his mind.

He chuckled. "Well, maybe not _too_ honest, but…you know. I'm gonna try not to hurt the people I love this year."

Ran frowned. "You mean Shinichi?"

Kaito blinked. "Well…a little, but…I actually more meant my friends and…and my best friend, Hakuba Saguru. He's been really good to me this year, but I've…taken him for granted? 'Neglected him' is an understatement. This year, I wanna make things more about him and less about me, but…Well, all I can do is try."

She nodded, smiling softly.

…

Mikau: By the way, (cough shameless plug cough) I've got a lot of new stuff out, so take a look, if you have the time/interest. I've got two collections of shorts going now called KaiHaku: Grey and KaiShin: The Depths of the Sea. They're nothing spectacular, but check them out, if you like. Also, in response to Guest's review from last chapter, yes, the BO will be playing a part in this story in the final arc. At the moment, Kaito is grounded from being Kid until about March (in story), and I want to finish hammering out the relationships before they tackle the Black Syndicate together. Next up, "The Truth About the Transformations". Get excited. I promise not to make you guys wait too long. I'll try to get the next chapter up in the next week. Until then!


	59. The Truth About the Transformations

Mikau: Hello there! How's everyone doing? I've been trapped inside my house the past two days, thanks to the snow and bitter cold. Honestly, I could have dug myself out if I'd really been inclined to do so, but I was content to stay indoors. Hopefully you're all well and warm. I'm excited about today's chapter. I've had it planned for a long time, and I'm particularly pleased with how it turned out, but before we get started, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter, especially patternleap and Bunnyz-chan! And now, on with the show.

Disclaimer: Let's be honest—I own nothing. I'm not even caught up on Conan. I'm back at episode 523. Though, I have watch all 523 episodes in their entirety and some episodes around 650-666 that were airing while I was in Japan. I'm catching up quickly, though.

…

The Truth About the Transformations

Kaito was counting down the days until the second Friday night in January. He was practically buzzing with excitement the entire week.

Friday during school, it was especially difficult to sit still.

Saguru looked at him, raising an eyebrow and mouthing, "Just what the devil's gotten into you? You're vibrating."

A sharp pang of guilt stabbed him in the gut, and he pretended not to have noticed until the end of the day when Saguru was escorting him home like a gentleman.

"So…I'm going to see Shinichi tonight…." He let the words hang in the air as he snuck little sidelong glances to gauge Saguru's reaction.

The detective nodded, surreptitiously taking Kaito's hand and leading him to a small alley back behind the shops so that no one else would see.

Before Kaito could get out an inquiry, Saguru pushed him up against the wall and kissed him for all he was worth.

He pulled back and smiled. "That…is so that you remember that while you may be with Kudo, you are not Kudo's alone."

"I know," Kaito whispered, brushing his lips obediently to Saguru's chin.

"May I speak with the other Kaito? Can he come out?"

Kaito nodded, and suddenly No1 was in his place. "Saguru?"

"Hello, Kaito." The detective smiled affectionately at the mentally younger boy. "How do you feel about this?"

"Scared," No1 mumbled. "I wish I could stop it, but the other two can't stop loving Shinichi any more than I can stop loving you, so…I don't have a choice."

"It'll be okay, Kaito. Just don't think about it," Saguru urged. "Whatever happens, don't worry. It's not your fault, and I'll still love you just the same. Remember that."

No1 nodded, eyes dropping to the floor. "Saguru, are you really okay with this?"

"…Truth be told…I'm jealous," Saguru sighed, pulling Kaito close and stroking his hair. "Kai…I…"

"Do you want me to call him and cancel for tonight?" 2.0 whispered. "I could reschedule. You and I could do something instead." Kaito tried his hardest to shrug like it was easy for him to be saying such things.

Saguru blinked, looking down and looking Kaito in the eye. "Are you serious? You would do that?"

"Yeah." The magician shrugged again, eyes trailing away from his boyfriend's.

"But you don't want to, do you? Be honest," Saguru pressed.

"No," Kaito mumbled.

"Why then?"

"'Cause I love you…" Kaito's eyes flickered back. "…and love is about compromise, so wanna go rent a movie and snuggle on the couch?"

"No," Saguru sighed with a bitter-sweet smile. "You go have your four hours with Kudo for the month. We can rent a movie and snuggle on the couch any old time. I have no right to keep you from him, but your offer is duly noted. I appreciate the very fact that you would offer."

"You sure?" Kaito blinked. He had been certain that he would be phoning Shin-chan to call off their plans.

"Yes." Saguru nodded, taking Kaito by the hand again and tugging him back to the main thoroughfare. "You have my blessing, but if he hurts you…" Saguru left the threat hanging as he stared his love down.

"He won't hurt me," Kaito assured, giving Saguru's hand a little squeeze.

"Regardless, if he hurts you—"

"—I know, Guru," Kaito chuckled. "I know where I can come running and be accepted with open arms after I've had a bath."

…

Kaito went home and spent the remainder of the time deciding what to wear. He knew the clothes were unimportant since he'd be taking them off just as soon as the front door closed behind him, but…still. He wanted to look breathtaking…irresistible.

Finally he picked out the jeans that Kiku-chan had forbade him from wearing (since they allegedly made him look "jumpable") and a tight button-down over a T-shirt.

As he stood on the Kudos' front porch, he started second-guessing the button-down. He knew that in a matter of seconds the door would open and his only concern would be getting the shirt off as fast as possible, and now he was thinking that the buttons weren't gonna be making it home with him, unless he felt inspired to search the floor for them on his way out.

The door did, in fact, open, and the two teens spent all of a second looking each other over and whispering the other's name before Kaito threw his arms around Shinichi's neck.

Shinichi's knees buckled under the extra weight, and they fell to the ground, a jumble of lips and hands and teeth and legs on the hardwood floor of the entry hall.

"I m-missed you," Kaito panted when he pulled back for air.

"I can tell," Shinichi laughed, just enjoying the fact that he could finally hold his beloved instead of it having to be the other way around. "Upstairs?"

"Upstairs," Kaito agreed, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

They stumbled up the stairs, finding it a little difficult to make out and ascend the steps at the same time.

Once they reached the bedroom, Shinichi grabbed his boyfriend by the back of the thighs and lifted Kaito up so that he was hanging from around Shinichi's neck in a position very similar to when Kaito carried Conan like a baby monkey.

Kaito wrapped his legs around Shinichi and smirked. "Ready when you are."

"Already?" Shinichi chuckled, walking them over to the bed, laying Kaito down, and then crawling on top of him.

"We've only got four hours," Kaito whined, arching his neck up to suck on Shinichi's throat. "I wanna take full advantage of the time we've got, so love me until I'm so tired I can't move," Kaito begged, making Shinichi feel dizzy. "Please, Shinichi. Please," he mumbled breathily against the very base of the detective's throat.

"Kaito," Shinichi growled, forcing his lips to the younger teen's.

"Change of plans," Kid chuckled, using his knees around Shinichi's hips to roll the detective off. He then pinned Shinichi to the bed beneath him and purred, "Hello, Meitantei. Can I play too?"

Shinichi swallowed hard, nodding eagerly.

The thief grinned, reaching out and tussling Shinichi's hair until it was a veritable tumbleweed. "The eyes are still wrong, but that's better," Kid snickered. "Now, before we begin, I feel obligated to warn you that I bite…hard. Scream if it hurts, okay, Shin-chan?"

Shinichi gulped again, nodding as he nearly died of anticipation.

…

"Are you tired yet?" Shinichi mumbled against Kaito's forehead, absentmindedly stroking his mate's back.

"No," Kaito grumbled, half-heartedly trying to do a Kid caricature on Shinichi's collarbone. "We've still got half an hour left."

"Then you be on top again. I'll just lie here." Shinichi could barely keep his eyes open.

"No. I like it better when you're on top," Kaito whined, letting his hand trace patterns on Shinichi's abs and thighs.

"Well, you're out of luck, 'cause I'm spent. As much as I'd like to keep going, I'm not a machine, Kai-chan," Shinichi chuckled.

"Un," Kaito grunted. "How old were you when you hit puberty the first time?"

"Fourteen? Why?"

"I wanna know how long it'll be until we can do this more than just once a month," Kaito mumbled.

Shinichi shrugged. "Could be different this time around. Conan's growing differently than Shinichi. I'm a little shorter, and I don't weigh as much this time around. It could be earlier; it could be later, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm gonna be a munchkin this time."

"I'd still love you." Kaito shrugged.

"You love me even when I'm in midget form," Shinichi chuckled. "…You know, maybe I should start drinking milk more. If I drink it every day, I may be able to catch up to Hakuba in height."

"Why would ya wanna do that?" Kaito snorted.

"It's a matter of male pride." Shinichi shrugged. "I know you love us both and all that, but I'm a competitive person, and the height difference bothers me."

Kaito just laughed. "Right. You go right on ahead and try to get taller than Guru. Never mind that his parents are both giants."

"A guy can dream, can't he?" Shinichi chuckled.

"Yeah." Kaito smiled, propping himself up and leaning in for a kiss.

As soon as they pulled back, Shinichi gasped in pain, reaching for his heart.

Kaito flinched at the sudden reaction. "S-Shin-chan? What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing," Shinichi choked, mentally cursing his luck.

"That's not nothing!" Kaito barked in panic. "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

Shinichi had to muffle a scream as another wave of pain hit him.

It was too soon for this. Why was he changing back so soon? The waves of pain were too close to one another.

He tried to get up, but Kaito pushed him back down. "Just stay there; I'm gonna call an ambulance."

"No. Kaito, calm down," Shinichi groaned, grabbing a pair of pants off the floor and pulling them on.

"Calm down? Calm down?! How can I calm down when you're having a heart attack?!" the magician squawked.

"Just call the Professor and Haibara. This is all part of the transformation," Shinichi got out through gritted teeth. It hurt so much more this time.

Kaito froze as the words sank in. He pulled clothes back on before searching for his phone and calling the scientists.

They told him not to worry and that they'd be over in a few minutes.

Kaito took the time to tidy up a little bit before lying back down beside Shinichi and holding him through the pain. He buried his face in Shinichi's neck and let his lover squeeze his hand as needed.

"Shh. It's okay," Kaito cooed. "I'm here." He lovingly stroked Shinichi's hair, kissing the corners of Shinichi's eyes whenever he saw tears building up there. "It's okay, Shin-chan."

Shinichi just tried to hold on. It was taking too long to turn back. It was too painful this time.

Kaito barely noticed when the Professor and the seemingly little girl showed up and began doing an assortment of tests.

After what seemed like an eternity, the actual shrinking finally began, and soon Conan was the one lying on the bed in Kaito's arms.

He was breathing hard and shaking, barely conscious.

"Does this always happen?" Kaito mumbled, still looking down at his little love.

"It's not always this violent, and usually it happens a great deal more quickly, but, yes, this is how it always is when he transforms," Haibara replied calmly, completely unaffected by what she had seen. "He'll need to rest, but he should be fine."

Kaito nodded, propping himself up. "You should probably take him back with you for observation or whatever. When he wakes up, tell him I'm fine and I went home."

"You don't look fine," the young scientist raised an eyebrow at him.

"And I'm not going home either, but do me a favor and lie to him for me. I'm out of here as soon as I take a shower," Kaito sighed, limping downstairs to get his bag of toiletries and extra clothes.

…

"I had hoped you wouldn't come," Saguru sighed, stepping out of the way so that Kaito could enter.

"Sorry," Kaito mumbled. "I can go, if you don't wan—"

"—You misunderstand. I had hoped you wouldn't come because I had hoped Kudo would be taking care of you tonight. You're welcome here, Kai, and I do not resent the fact that I have to clean up after Kudo's mess," Saguru clarified, motioning for Kaito to make himself at home on the couch. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"

Kaito smiled wearily and nodded, slipping on the pair of house-shoes that Saguru kept up in his room for him and making his way over to his reserved spot on the couch. "Aren't cha going to ask what happened?"

"No." Saguru shrugged, preparing drinks for them.

"You're not curious?" Kaito hugged one of the throw pillows to his chest.

"I am, but a gentleman does not pry," Saguru replied levelly, practicing self-control.

"Come sit down, and I'll tell you," Kaito sighed.

"Only if you wish to share. It's none of my business, unless he's hurt you."

"I wanna talk," Kaito mumbled, shrugging one shoulder.

"Alright." Saguru brought over two mugs, handing one to Kaito and setting the other down on the coffee table.

"You know, you look sexy like that," Kaito chuckled, really taking in the sight of his boyfriend in plaid pajama pants and a cotton tee.

Saguru looked down at his attire and shrugged. "I'm wearing pajamas, Kaito. I look like laundry day."

"The reading glasses give you a mature, intellectual vibe," Kaito hummed, reaching out and touching Saguru's spectacles. "I like it."

"T-Thank you," Saguru stuttered, embarrassed and wanting to change the subject. "You were about to tell me what had gone awry in your love life now?"

"Yeah," Kaito sighed, focusing his attention back down at his cocoa. "Shinichi…hasn't exactly been one hundred percent truthful with me about his transformations."

Saguru frowned. "Go on."

"You see, he changed back early today, so I saw it, and it was horrible. He looked like he was in a ton of pain, like he was having a heart attack or something. It looked like he was gonna d-die." Kaito choked on the last word as he set his cocoa down and rested his forehead on his knees.

Saguru nodded, putting a supportive hand on Kaito's shoulder. "I suppose, now that I think about it, it makes sense. If a body were to, in reality, grow and shrink rapidly, it would put a lot of strain on the body's owner. I had never given it much thought before."

"How could he not tell me how much it hurt?" Kaito gasped, trying to hold back tears of frustration and guilt. "How could go through that every time just to see me?"

"Well, that's rather simple; he loves you," Saguru replied, gently petting Kaito's hair. "If you were uncertain before, all your doubts should be cleared away now."

Kaito sighed, wiping his eyes. "I can't let him do it anymore."

"Even if it means that you two can't be together?" Saguru softly inquired.

"Damn, this sucks," Kaito hissed, picking up his cocoa and taking a big gulp.

"You'll get through it," Saguru reassured, squeezing Kaito's upper arm lightly.

Kaito sighed, abandoning his mug once more and turning to tackle Saguru, burying his face in Saguru's neck.

Saguru shifted them both so that Kaito could lie on top of him more comfortably. He pushed Kaito's bangs back and kissed his forehead. "Oh, Kaito. My dove…Is there anything I can do?"

Kaito shook his head, closing his eyes and breathing in Saguru's pine scent, trying to calm down.

"We'll get through this," Saguru whispered. "All three of us…well…five, I suppose, but we'll get through it together, Kai."

…

Mikau: Sappy romance all around! What did you think? I'm really looking forward to your feedback on this one. Anyway, I've been making good use of my time indoors. Before the snow came down, I borrowed a whole bunch of guidebooks from the library to use to plan my trip to Europe this fall. I'll be studying abroad in England (if all goes according to plan), so I hope to go to Scotland, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and Greece while I'm over there. Anybody got suggestions of stuff I definitely have to do? Well, thanks so much for sticking with me thus far. I hope to continue supplying you with quality work in the future as well. Take care, now!


	60. Talking it Out

Mikau: Hello there! First and foremost, I want to thank you guys for all of the reviews for last chapter. They are wholeheartedly appreciated. I've been so nervous about my fics lately, worrying about what people think, and your reviews were a huge relief to me. Thanks to: Bunnyz-chan, patternleap, Aniki-xvi, AK, and MitsuhikoEdogawa. You all rock. Thank you as well to everyone who has reviewed so far. We're at 299 reviews! I can't believe. Reviewer number 300 gets a cookie. Anyway, I want to thank you all so much for your support so far and basically just hanging in there with me. I can't believe we've made it to chapter sixty! Thank you, thank you, thank you, guys! And now on with the show!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd quickly run out of ways to kill people using duct tape and piano wire. Seriously. As I've learned from Detective Conan, you can murder people in dozens of creative ways if you have piano wire and duct tape!

…

Talking it Out

It was six in the bloody morning, and Kaito's phone was exploding in peals of Lady Gaga.

Saguru quickly grabbed the hated device off of the nightstand and switched it to silent.

When no one picked up, the caller tried again. And again. And again.

Hakuba Saguru was kind of getting the feeling that he wouldn't be getting any more sleep.

On the fifth attempt, Saguru picked up the phone once more and looked at the screen—"Shin-chan~3" was calling.

Reluctantly unwinding himself from his boyfriend (who was somehow still out cold despite the din caused by the phone vibrating around like a Mexican jumping bean on the nightstand), Saguru got out of bed and made his way across the hall to the study before answering.

"Thank you for calling the phone of Kuroba Kaito at six in the sodding morning. This is Hakuba Saguru speaking. How can I help you?" Saguru injected every bit of sanguinity he could muster into his words.

"Hakuba, how's Kaito?! Is Kaito okay?" the voice of Edogawa Conan queried frantically.

"What do you think?" Saguru spit, taking a seat in one of the armchairs and curling up with his feet on the seat, knees to his chest. He wrapped an arm around his knees and set his chin down on top of them. He sighed, and the bite came out of his words. "He was in a bit of a bad way last night, but I managed to calm him down somehow. He's asleep now."

Saguru had lost himself for a bit there. It was unlike him to snap like that. It wouldn't do to show his own emotions. It would only upset Kaito. No. He had to hold it in. Be calm and level-headed. Kudo and Kaito were the ones allowed to fly off the handle, not Saguru.

"Oh. Good," Shinichi mumbled.

"No," Saguru corrected. "Not 'good'. He'll be upset again once he wakes up. You two must talk."

"Right," the other detective sighed. "Dammit."

"If you'd like, I could always mediate. I'm told I'm very good at it…. Only if you'd like, though." Saguru shrugged.

"Oh yeah? Thanks, Hakuba. I really mean it." Shinichi's tone of voice conveyed a genuine smile, kind of like the ones Saguru had seen Conan cast Kaito's way. "I'm grateful to you for always taking care of Kaito. Thank you for all of your help."

Saguru shifted uncomfortably, curling his toes up and biting his lip. "You're…You're welcome. It's…nothing. It's nothing."

"Hakuba?" the shrunken detective called.

"Y-Yes?" Saguru didn't know why he was so off this morning.

"Are you okay?" The words floored the blonde. "You sound…tired."

"I…am fine. It's six-thirty in the morning, Kudo," Saguru easily brushed off his physical and emotional fatigue.

"No. It's more than that, Hakuba. You're always so busy taking care of others and dealing with all the drama. You're always stuffing everything you're feeling down because you don't want to make problems for others or you don't want to upset Kaito. It's not healthy, you know. You're not a robot, Hakuba. You've got emotions too, so show them every once in a while," Shinichi urged, cutting right through the blonde and his feeble mask.

"…I assure you I am fine," Saguru whispered into the receiver. "You needn't worry about me."

"But I _do_," the great sleuth snorted. "I do worry about you. Hakuba…we're friends, right?"

Saguru dropped the phone. _"Wha…WHAT?!"_

Friends. Were they friends? Just what was a friend anyway? The Hakuba heir had little experience in this field. He had Kaito and Kaitou and, well, the other Kaito, but two of those were now technically more paramours, and he really hadn't had a good conversation with Kaitou in ages since he'd been spending most of his time falling in love with Kaito and, more recently, Kaito. Just what did it mean to be a friend?

Was Kudo his friend? Their relationship was a funny one, but…they had been spending more time together recently, especially during the trip, and, admittedly, Saguru did enjoy Kudo's company, and they were both interested in similar things, and Kudo made an excellent conversation partner, and…they were friends, weren't they?

"Hakuba? Hakuba are you there? Say something," Conan's voice on the other end of the receiver brought Saguru back to the present.

He shook his head and picked up the phone. "I…I'm furious…with you."

"What?" Shinichi was, for once, totally lost.

"I'm absolutely incensed," Saguru continued, gaining steam. "How dare you put yourself through such excruciating pain? How dare you go through such a dangerous ordeal time and time again without even thinking to consult either of us? How dare you lie and go behind our backs, knowing that we would be horrified if we should ever find out? How dare you, Kudo Shinichi? I'm angry, and I'm hurt, and I…You were right. I am tired…Shinichi."

"You're right too. I'm sorry, Hakuba Saguru. I've always been a selfish person, but…I'm sorry…. And you know, you might be a little less tired if you're honest more often. Maybe not necessarily with Kaito, but…know that you can be honest with me. I can take it. Friends stick with you on your good days as well as your bad ones, after all."

Saguru nodded, a small smile coming to his face. "Thank you, Kudo. I'll tell Kaito you called when he wakes up. I'm…not so sure he'll call you back, though. He was rather upset last night."

"I wouldn't blame him," Shinichi sighed. "Thanks, Hakuba. Good talk."

"Indeed," Saguru chuckled.

…

Kaito didn't remember falling asleep, but he awoke curled up in Saguru's comforter, snug in Saguru's bed with his boyfriend nowhere to be seen. He lazily peeled back the covers and forced himself to sit up.

Just then, Saguru entered with a tray. "I thought you'd be waking up around now, so I brought breakfast up for you." Saguru set the tray down across Kaito's lap and pulled the cover up to reveal pancakes topped with berries and whipped cream along with a side plate of eggs. "You _are_ hungry, aren't you? If not, I can always take it away, but…you should really eat."

"Thanks, Guru," Kaito sighed, wiping the sleep from his eyes with one hand and picking up the fork with the other. "Looks delicious."

"Oh, they are. Baaya made them extra sweet just for you." Saguru took a seat on the bed and smiled affectionately at his sleepy boyfriend.

"Tell her thanks for me too," Kaito mumbled, taking his first bite in a bit of a daze.

The sugar soon helped him wake up, and he began looking around for his phone; he'd had it when he'd got here.

"You seen my phone, Guru?" Kaito asked sheepishly.

Saguru pulled the device out of his pocket and handed it back to its rightful owner. "It started making a din around six in the morning, and I was afraid it would disturb you, so I confiscated it. Kudo called, and I spoke with him."

"What did you say?" Kaito paused mid-bite.

"Nothing much." Saguru shrugged. "I told him the truth. I said that you were quite upset and that you two are going to have to work this out between you, but that I'd be more than happy to mediate. I also said that I'd tell you to call him whenever you woke up, but I told him that whether or not you called was completely up to you to decide. Will you call him, Kaito?"

The magician bit his lip, absentmindedly fingering his phone. "I think I'll just text him. I sort of want to have this conversation in person."

"Would you like me to accompany you?" Saguru offered.

"Nah. You don't have to. Thanks, though, Guru."

"Whatever you need," the Brit assured.

"Stop being so accommodating," Kaito chuckled, mussing Saguru's hair. "You make me feel like a bad boyfriend 'cause I never do anything for you."

"Shall I be sappy and cliché and say that you just being alive is enough for me?" Saguru smirked.

Kaito rolled his eyes, giving the detective a playful shove.

…

"Hey," Conan greeted hesitantly when Kaito came to pick him up from the Mouri Detective Agency.

"Hey," Kaito sighed, picking up the smaller teen. "You feeling okay?"

"Little sore, but that's just from being on the receiving end of things last night. You?" Conan bit his lip, resting his head on Kaito's shoulder.

"Good. Yeah, I'm the same, but it didn't hurt nearly as bad as the first time, so…" He paused, not knowing how to say everything that was on his mind. "So…we need to talk."

"I know," Conan mumbled. "No one's home right now—Occhan's out on a case, and Ran's with her boyfriend—so we could talk here. We could go to my place, if you'd rather, though."

"Here's…fine." Kaito put Conan down, and they went into the office to sit on the couch next to each other, but not facing each other.

Kaito made a point of looking out the window, until Conan broke the uncomfortable silence.

"So…are you going to break up with me?"

Kaito's head snapped to face his boyfriend, face filling with confusion. "What? No. Why would I break up with you, Shinichi?"

"Because now that you know, you're not going to let me change back anymore, and if I can't change back, we can't be together, so what's the point? You'd be better off with just Hakuba anyway, so don't feel like you have to ride things out with me out of obligation or anything." Conan shrugged, trying to hold in the tears.

"For being such a genius, you're an idiot." Kaito frowned. "Shinichi, I'm not in a relationship with you just so I can sleep with you. We're not breaking up. I'm just…I don't know…ticked? Disappointed in you? Why didn't you tell me how much transforming hurt you?"

"Because I knew if you knew you'd make me stop," the mini-tantei mumbled.

"Hell yeah, I would. Be honest; you knew that wasn't okay, right?" Kaito glared for all that he was worth. "…hurting yourself like that…"

"Kaito, you're such a hypocrite," Conan scoffed. "How is it not okay for me to choose to go through the pain of transforming when you go out there and get yourself shot for kicks? Hm? If I stop transforming, you stop getting shot."

"Shinichi, that's different," Kaito growled. "It's not like I go out there planning on getting hit. I do my best to stay safe. It's completely different from you subjecting yourself to that kind of pain just to spend four hours with me in your regular body. _I_ don't have a choice. I can't stop doing what I'm doing until my mission's accomplished."

"Oh? And what's this mission that's worth _dying_ for, Kaito?" Conan snorted.

"I can't say. It's too dangerous, and I'm not going to put your life on the line too," Kaito sighed, crossing his arms and legs and looking away.

"Kaito, I can help you. Just tell me what's going on," Conan urged.

"Why do you detective-types always have to go sticking your noses where they don't belong? If I won't let Guru help, what makes you think I'd let you, trapped in the body of a little kid, stick your neck out for me?"

"Hakuba knows about this?" the shorter boy growled, getting to his feet. "Kaito!"

"Oh, give me a break," Kaito sighed, running both hands through his hair. "Look, Saguru knows just about as much as you, but, so help me, if either of you go poking around in my business, I swear to you, it's over. I don't like threatening you, but I will in this case, Shinichi. I'm involved in some serious shit, much like you are. You don't see me trying to horn in on _your_ suicide mission, so stay the hell out of mine, okay?"

He took a deep breath and looked apologetically back at Conan. "I trust you, you know. I know you're investigating something really dangerous, but I trust in you to beat your baddies and come back to me alive. I believe in you, so why can't you just believe in me, Shinichi?"

Conan was quiet, collecting his thoughts for a minute before he finally spoke. "How much do you know?"

"Only that you're in danger. Someone's after you, but that's it. I haven't gone sticking my nose in your business because I know that knowing could get me killed, and I don't want you to feel like you have to protect me from them. I know you'd die for me, and I don't want to put you in a situation where you have to, so I keep my nose where it belongs. Why can't you do the same for me?" Kaito retorted.

Conan sighed. "Kaito, you've never had to watch me almost die because of the bastards that are after me. When you got shot—"

"—What about last night? Huh?" Kaito challenged. "It sure looked like you were dying, Shinichi. Do you have any idea what that was like for me? Do you know how scared I was? Don't you get how much that hurt me?"

Conan nodded. "…Sorry."

Kaito sighed. "Yeah, me too. So what are we gonna do about this?"

"Are we just not going to see each other for the next six years?" Conan echoed the sigh.

Kaito drew his knees up to his chest, resting his head on top of them and closing his eyes.

"You know, Kaito, last night was a lot worse than usual. It's not always so bad, if that's what's got you so worried. I mean, you can see for yourself that I'm perfectly fine after turning into Shinichi, and I'm okay after I turn back into Conan too. It's not as bad as you think," Conan coerced. "It'd be worse not being able to be with you for six whole years…and it's not really fair to Hakuba for you to take your libido out on him."

"…Maybe," Kaito mumbled. "But things have to be different, Shinichi."

Conan nodded. "Okay, Kaito…. You're still going to go out there with the snipers?"

"It's something I have to do. Please stay out of it," Kaito begged.

"I'll try my best. That doesn't mean I'm not going to be there at every single heist to watch your back, but I'll try to keep out of your business. I don't know how long I'll be able to if they hurt you again, but…"

"Thanks," Kaito sighed in relief. "Well, at least you don't have to worry for now. I'm still grounded from the last time I got shot."

"Don't remind me," Conan sighed, scooting closer to Kaito on the couch. "So…you swear you'll think about it?"

"Yeah, I'll think about it." Kaito smiled, tussling Conan's pristine hairdo. "Wanna go for coffee?"

"Kaito, when do I not want to go for coffee?" Conan laughed, taking his mate by the hand and tugging him downstairs to their booth at Poirot.

…

Mikau: This one was hard to write for some reason. There was a lot of tension and drama. Honestly I had the majority of it written already when I posted last chapter, but this one gave me some problems, and I kept going back over it again and again. I'm satisfied with it, though. What did you think? Some feedback would be highly appreciated. Well, it's always appreciated, but you know what I mean. I don't have one hundred percent confidence in this one. Well, I did enjoy writing the little dialogue between Hakuba and Shin-chan at the beginning, though. I think I might want to write a HakuShin fic or something in the future. I like having them interact. What do you think? One last thing before I let you go: I have a new poll up on my profile page. I've had such a bad case of writing ADHD lately, and I want to know what you guys want me to focus on. Please and thank you! Thanks for reading, and see you next time!


	61. Play-Date

Mikau: Hi guys! First and foremost I want to thank you all for the reviews of last chapter. It's so exciting to be over 60! Even more exciting is to have over 300 reviews! Thank you all for your overwhelming support! Thanks to Bunnyz-chan (reviewer number 300 who has requested a Heiji fic. I'm working on it, but I have no idea when I'll actually publish anything), patternleap, guest (thank you so much for your encouragement!), and Aniki-xvi!

Okay, now a confession about this chapter: it's older than dirt. This is something I've had written and lying around for more than a year now (since fall 2012). I really liked it, but I wasn't sure where exactly to put it. I've decided that it fits here, but now, at this point, the conversation about the TV show Sherlock between Shin-chan and Guru is terribly outdated. I was looking over it, though, and I still think it's a good chapter, so I've decided to post it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd make Okiya Subaru more suspicious…by making him less suspicious. I think it's to the point where he's so suspicious that he's not even suspicious anymore. If that makes sense. They're just working too hard to make us believe that he's secretly evil.

…

Play-Date

"I was just thinking that it'd been a long time since the two of us had gone to a café to just chat," Saguru brought up one day. "Would you like to accompany me to Nancy's after school today?"

Kaito blinked. "Guru, I'd love to, but I kind of already have plans…. Do you wanna come with? We're just going to the park to play tag, but—"

"—I wouldn't want to intrude," Hakuba returned, holding his hands up at chest height.

"You wouldn't be intruding," Kaito assured with a snicker. "It's not a date. I'm just hanging out with the munchkin squad today."

"You mean Edogawa's classmates?" Saguru blinked twice. Well, that was a new one.

"Yep. They're my friends," Kaito explained, gathering his stuff.

"That makes sense; they're right at your maturity level," Saguru teased.

"Hey," Kaito whined, picking up his bag and making sure to "accidentally" hit the blonde with it. "So, you coming or not?"

"I'll come…if only to act as a chaperone." Saguru smirked, earning him another love tap with the bag.

…

Saguru found himself sitting on the sidelines with Kudo and a girl called Haibara for the game of tag.

Haibara-chan was busy reading a fashion magazine, so that left only Kudo to talk to as Kaito ran around like an idiot with the children.

"Did you hear that they confirmed a third season for Sherlock? It's supposed to come out this fall," Saguru searched for a conversation starter on common ground.

"You know I did hear something about that, but I couldn't find much information about it," Conan responded eagerly. "Have you heard anything else?"

"Only that the episode clues are rat, wedding, and bow." Hakuba shrugged, absentmindedly watching Kaito boost Ayumi-chan up into a tree so that Genta-kun and Mitsuhiko-kun could not tag her.

"So this is probably the last season, then," Kudo sighed.

"It seems so," Saguru matched his rival's sigh exactly. "I can't think of anything else 'bow' could refer to other than His Last Bow. What I'm wondering about is the clue 'wedding'."

"Do you think it refers to a case or Watson?" Conan bit his lip.

Saguru shrugged. "I was kind of hoping it wasn't Watson. I kind of like the pseudo-relationship between him and Sherlock. I was a little disappointed when Watson got married in the original work as well."

"Which time?" Conan laughed.

"All of them. Every time he left Baker Street it disappointed me. I quite enjoyed the idea of a man like Holmes having a constant, loyal companion in Doctor Watson. Every time he left for a wife, it felt like betrayal," Saguru mumbled.

"Because you wanted something to believe in?" Kudo asked, looking up into Hakuba's eyes.

Saguru froze, holding the gaze for a few seconds before turning away. "Yes. I wanted to believe in their bond because if someone could put up with Sherlock Holmes like that, then, surely, there had to be someone out there that could be that for me."

"Yeah," Conan chuckled. "You're a lot less troublesome." He nodded to Kaito, who was now up in the tree with Ayumi, teasing the other boys who were still on the ground. "I think you found your someone."

Saguru blushed, nodding. "You know, I read an online article the other day where the writer said that Watson had as many as six wives."

Kudo blinked. "Get out. I've never counted, but…seriously?"

"I buy five," Saguru chuckled. "I'll text you the site, but they said that the last wife was Mrs. Hudson."

Conan shook his head. "I'm going to have to read this."

Meanwhile, Kaito was having the time of his life playing tag.

Genta, Mitsuhiko, Ayumi-chan, and he had split into two teams, and currently Team Unagi was "it". Team Detective Princess was holding its own, though.

Kaito was used to dodging multiple assailants, and Genta and Mitsuhiko were a lot slower than his usual playmates, but the added difficulty of protecting a teammate while fleeing was making up for the lack of a challenge.

The cold wind rushing past him as he ran was exhilarating, and the kids' reactions were a blast—not quite as much fun as Aoko's, but still pretty good.

After a good half hour of running about, he could tell the kids were getting tired, so he called the game, going over to check in on his boyfriends while the pipsqueaks took a break.

Guru and Shin-chan were so busy chatting animatedly that they almost didn't notice Kaito approaching.

"Hey, geeks. What's up?" Kaito chuckled, leaning on the picnic table.

"We were just conversing." Saguru shrugged with an invigorated smile on his lips.

Kaito nodded knowingly. "Aww, you made a friend. How cute." He ruffled Saguru's hair before turning and doing the same to Conan. "I wish I could relate to you guys on that level. It's like you're in your own little world sometimes."

"I'd worry about them running off with each other," Haibara snorted.

"Don't give him any ideas," Conan hissed.

Saguru looked between the two grade schoolers and blinked. "Sorry, is she…?"

"She's the mad scientist," Kaito explained with a shrug. "So, guys…we have a problem."

"We do?" the boyfriends chorused, casting each other worried glances.

"Yeah," Kaito sighed. "I want babies!"

Conan and Saguru blushed while Haibara giggled most uncharacteristically hard.

"Would you guys still love me if I had a sex change?" Kaito looked up at his boyfriends pleadingly. "I wanna be a mommy."

Conan joined Haibara in the giggle fit while Saguru just shook his head.

"Kaito, Dove, getting a sex change will not give you the ability to carry children. You lack the ovaries and uterus to do so."

"B-But…but…" Kaito stuck out his lip and started pouting.

"Don't worry, Kaito," Conan chuckled. "We can adopt as many kids as you want."

Kaito's eyes lit up.

"No more than three," Saguru corrected authoritatively.

Kaito's lip jutted forward once again.

"Why three?" Conan asked out of curiosity.

"Because there are three of us, and it would be unfair to the children if we had any more. We wouldn't be able to give them the individual attention that they deserve," Saguru elaborated.

Conan nodded. "That's a really good point. Okay. No more than three, Kaito."

"But…" the magician began to whine.

"We could always see how we do with the first few and then discuss our options afterwards." Saguru shrugged, hoping to appease his darling. "After all, we ourselves are still children, and we aren't even…pseudo-married yet, so still we have quite a while before children should be an issue."

Kaito sighed. "I know people our age with children."

"Yes, but are they _good_ parents?" Saguru scoffed. "Are they loving, mature, responsible parents? Take it from a product of teenage pregnancy, children having children is not a good idea. There are very few people our age that are ready for that kind of commitment, and I don't think we, in good conscience, can count ourselves in their numbers."

"He's right, Kai-chan. I'm still trapped in a kid's body. I don't think I'm legally allowed to adopt and raise children yet." Conan shrugged. "It would mainly be you and Hakuba doing the parenting, and if something happens to you, what's Hakuba going to do? You know what it's like growing up short one parent, Kaito. Would you really want that for your own kids? We should wait until we're older…until you've accomplished whatever it is that keeps putting you in harm's way."

Kaito nodded, sighing and letting it go. "I know. It's just a reoccurring whim of mine."

"Eventually," Saguru assured.

"One day," Conan added, patting Kaito on the forearm.

Kaito smiled, giving them a sharp salute before going back to play with the kiddies.

…

Mikau: If you'd be interested in reading the article on Watson's wives, it's on sherlockpeoria. Just google "the wives of Dr. Watson", and it should come up. It was very interesting, but, like Hakuba said, I only buy five. The first one seems like a stretch to me, but the other author makes a reasonable case for the other five. Anyway, thanks so much for reading guys! Let me know what you think! (Also, the poll's still going on my profile page.)


	62. A Valentine's Night In

Mikau: Hi guys! This took me a while. I had writer's block, and it's Valentine's season (I'm a florist. Got to pay for school somehow.), so work's been a little busier than usual. Anyway, to get over my writer's block, I was doing writing exercises, and now I've got a new fic called A Handful of Roses on my hands. It turned into a chapter fic. ^.^; It's turning into a bit of a HakuKaiShin love triangle/eventual threesome thing. Check it out, if you have time. Anyway, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. I'm so grateful for your continued support, guys: Conan02, Bunnyz-chan, patternleap, Guest, and MeitanteiRose! Without further ado, the Valentine's Day chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd probably snap and end up in jail for trying to see if my ideas for murdering a character would actually work. I admire mystery writers who don't go insane. That must be so interesting keeping work and real life separate, especially if you do it for years and years.

…

A Valentine's Night In

"How long until it's done?" If Kaito would have had a tail, it would have been wagging uncontrollably as he peered into the oven.

"Fifteen minutes and forty-two point five seconds," Saguru chuckled, turning to his partner in crime. "Don't you just find it adorable when he gets all excited like this?"

Kudo smirked. "Adorable…is one word for it. Though, I'd pick 'jumpable'."

Saguru shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Say…feel free to ignore me if you feel I'm being too nosy, but…it's been about a month since you and Kaito last…were together. You said he agreed to think about letting you change back again, but…has he said anything?"

Conan shook his head, sneaking a quick glance at Kaito on the other side of the room. The thief looked preoccupied with the baked goods, so Conan whispered, "No, he hasn't, and I'm thinking about saying something to him about it, actually. This whole month he's been kind of distant physically. I mean, he still cuddles all the time, and we make out a bit, but…before he was insatiable, and now…it's like he's not interested. He hasn't said a word about it since he saw me transform. Last time he was constantly whining about having to wait until we could…be together again. Has he said anything about…well, anything to you?"

Saguru pursed his lips and whispered back. "No, actually. He has been slightly more physically demanding of me this past month, but it's nothing major. You really should talk to him about it, if there's been such a stark contrast between his behavior before and behavior now."

Conan nodded. "So…how are things going between the two of you? Kaito told me that you introduced him to your dad."

"As a close friend, yes. My mother actually called my father to ask if he'd met Kaito yet. My father accosted me about it, and the two met shortly afterwards. I personally think it was a scheme concocted between my mother and Kaito. They seem to have become quite close since they met while we were in England on holiday. Needless to say, I am jealous of and vehemently opposed to their friendship," Saguru pouted.

Conan just laughed. "Yeah? And what about _physically_? Have you two done anything more than kiss?"

Saguru's face went red in one point three seconds. "I…we…we seem to have graduated from simply kissing to actually making out. The past few times there may even have been a bit of fondling."

"Way to go, Hakuba," Conan snickered softly. "You two thinking about going all the way soon?"

"I-I'm not sure. I think he's been dropping hints, and I've been considering it, and…I think I may be ready sometime soon, if he's interested."

"Go for it," Conan urged, smacking his friend on the arm.

"You guys do know that I can hear you, don't you?" Kaito sighed, turning around to raise an eyebrow at his boyfriends.

The detectives went a little red in the face.

"In answer to your questions…" Kaito turned to Conan. "Yes. I want to, but it's complicated. We'll talk later…. And you…" He eyed Saguru and licked his lips. "Yes. Definitely. Whenever you're ready, just let me know."

"R-Right," Saguru stuttered.

…

They spent the rest of the evening melting down the chocolate they had collectively received (except for the homemade ones, since Hakuba had pointed out that they had a duty as gentlemen to appreciate the effort to which the young maidens in love had gone to make them) and making baked goods with them.

They teased and flirted and acted like a bunch of nerds, basically just making a mess of Baaya's kitchen until she shooed them out so that she could make dinner.

They went upstairs to get out of her way and played Wii Sports until dinner was ready.

"You really should be going out to a fancy dinner." Baaya frowned as she waved the boys into the dining room where a four-course meal was laid out before them.

Kaito shrugged and kissed the motherly woman on the temple. "I'd rather eat your food any day, Baaya. Besides, a couple like us would stand out."

"It's not that uncommon." Baaya's frown softened.

The three boys snickered.

"Still, Baaya, we prefer the privacy of a quiet night at home," Saguru assured.

After dinner, there was a movie and snuggling, though the majority of the movie wasn't really paid much mind.

At nine o'clock, Kaito and Conan had to leave so that the grade schooler of the group could get home at a decent time.

Kaito kissed one boyfriend goodbye before picking up the other and beginning to carry him home.

"Kaito?" Conan mumbled into his mate's collarbone.

"Hm?" the magician responded, pulling his little portable space heater a little closer.

"Earlier you said you would let me change back again but that we had to talk about it. What do we have to talk about?" Conan held his breath, hoping this wouldn't be too complex of a discussion.

"I want to be there when you change both times. I wanna see the whole process all the way through. I don't want it edited and censored down to something you think I can handle. I want to see the ugly truth behind what you go through to be with me."

Shinichi could tell that Kaito's mind was made up and there would be no changing it.

Conan sighed. "You're not going to like it."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I don't have the responsibility to see it anyway," Kaito muttered. "I should be the one taking care of you before and afterwards, not the Professor and Haibara. And I wanna see if there isn't some way we can knock you out while you change back to Conan so that you don't have to be conscious for the pain. Maybe we could use some of my knockout gas or something, but…if you're dead set on going through _that_ every time for me—"

"—Kaito, I do it for myself every bit as much as I do it for you…maybe even more for myself. This isn't me being self-sacrificing, Kaito, it's me being selfish. I've changed back at least a dozen times, knowing that you'd flip if you found out how much it hurt. I hid it from you and did it anyway for myself, Kaito. Stop feeling guilty. Be mad at me or something, but don't take it out on yourself."

Kaito nodded, giving Conan a little squeeze. "How about I come over to your house tomorrow and you make it up to me? Then I'll take care of you for a little bit, and we can have a sleepover afterwards."

"Sounds good," Conan chuckled, giving Kaito's neck a little nip.

"All I've ever wanted, Shinichi was for you to spend the night with me afterwards."

"Then I'll make it all up to you tomorrow," Shinichi vowed.

"One more thing. Promise me you'll be honest from now on. No secrets. No half-truths. No spinning things in a way you think I'll be okay with. I want you to swear to me that you'll be upfront, frank, and straightforward."

"I swear, Kaito," Conan mumbled. "I won't screw up like that again. I promise."

"Good. Thanks, Shin-chan," Kaito chuckled, pressing a quick kiss to his miniature boyfriend's forehead.

…

Mikau: So, yeah. It was a pretty okay chapter in my opinion. I'm not one hundred percent satisfied with it, but the longer I kept working and reworking it, the more blah it seemed to get. I promise next chapter will be better. I'm excited to write it! It's called Define 'Tango'. I'll leave the subject of the chapter to your imaginations. Thanks for reading, guys!


	63. Define Tango

Mikau: Where have I been? Selling flowers and doing homework. I briefly got sucked into playing Pokémon with about 100,000 other people too. It was fun. My brother and I did that for about an hour until we gave up on humanity. Anyway, I survived Valentine's Day. Yay! And now I have a super fun chapter for you all. Thanks so much to reviewers from last chapter: MeitanteiRose, patternleap, and GeekyGenius. Also, all you KaiShin fans should go read my new fic "The Healing Process" if you have time. One more thing before we begin: go watch Strictly Come Dancing's Lisa and Brendan's Argentine Tango on Youtube. It's gorgeous and will give you a better idea of the dance scene in this chapter. And now, without further ado, the new chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd be vacationing on some tropical island with the proceeds right about now. This winter has been a little ridiculous, and I'd really like some warmth right about now.

…

Define "Tango"

"Hakuba-kun, you're here early…and it looks like you're thinking waaaay too hard for seven in the morning," Aoko observed as she peeked over her classmate's shoulder.

"Ah…Aoko-kun…. I was just…just trying to come up with an idea for the perfect date." Saguru gulped. He'd been trying for an entire week since Valentine's Day to come up with a date that would be a suitable lead-in to his first time with Kaito, and he was at a loss.

Aoko nodded, stroking her chin in thought. "Kaito'd rather be moving around than sitting through a movie or something. Aoko would take him rock climbing or something. Something interactive."

"Interactive," he muttered, three thin lines forming on his brow. "Yes, something of a physical nature would probably be good. Thank you, Aoko-kun."

Aoko shrugged, going to find Keiko.

It took another few days for the perfect date idea to land in Saguru's lap, but eventually it happened.

Kaito just so happened to be reading the paper in class one day (much as he always did), and Saguru saw an ad for Latin dancing lessons for couples to take place in the ballroom of a ritzy hotel.

When Saguru arrived at the Kuroba residence to pick up his date that Saturday, he was both amazed and yet, not the least bit surprised to find his boyfriend's twin sister waiting for him.

"Aren't you going to be cold in that skimpy little thing?" Saguru chuckled, making it no secret that he was currently appreciating Kaito's cleavage.

"You'll keep me warm," Kaito snickered in a tone of voice just a bit higher than his own. "Won't you, Guru?"

"That was the plan." Saguru smiled as he slipped his jacket around Kaito's shoulders.

"Not what I meant," Kaito sighed, following his boyfriend to the waiting car.

…

The actual dance lesson was pure, sweet, blissful agony. Their bodies rubbing against one another during the tango, hips moving in sync in the cha cha, thighs rubbing and legs flicking between each other's in the argentine tango…it was sensual torture.

"You're like a pro at this," Saguru chuckled as Kaito slid down the length of his body. "I thought you told me that you'd never done the tango before."

"I thought I hadn't," Kaito snickered, rubbing his foot up and down Saguru's calf slowly. "It wasn't called the tango when I did it; I didn't mean to mislead you."

Saguru moved Kaito's foot with his own in a bicycle-like motion before hooking Kaito's leg and pulling so that it wrapped up around Saguru's hip.

"Though, you haven't been completely honest with me either," Kaito purred.

"What do you mean, Love?" Saguru frowned, dipping Kaito so that he was almost parallel to the floor.

"You told me we were going dancing," Kaito chuckled as he was slowly brought up to vertical again. "…this is having sex with our clothes on in public."

Saguru blushed, but he held Kaito's gaze as his legs weaved in and out of Kaito's as they traveled across the floor. "Are you upset that I tricked you?"

"No." Kaito grinned. "Saguru, the only way you could make me happier would be if we were doing this somewhere private…sans the clothes."

Saguru gulped and opened his mouth to offer to grant Kaito's wish just as the last song ended and the instructor called them back over to the center. He smiled softly, pecking Kaito on the cheek as he escorted his boyfriend over to where the others were congregating.

After class was adjourned, they made their way out to the lobby through the courtyard.

Kaito pulled them to a stop at the fountain and grinned as he turned back to Saguru. "I've got a present for you."

"Are you sure it can't wait until we get back inside? Kaito, I'm worried about you catching your death of a cold out here." Saguru frowned, giving his darling's hand a little tug.

Kaito shook his head, standing his ground. "I'm fine. I've got your jacket. Besides, this place is more romantic than the lobby. It's more secluded too."

"Alright," Saguru sighed with a smile. He knew there was no use arguing with the magician-thief. "What is it?"

"Something that should have been yours that I gave to someone else. It's a shoddy substitute for the real thing, but…" With a bitter smile, Kaito handed over a playing card.

Saguru blinked as he studied the card. "The five of hearts?"

Kaito chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Not 'five'… 'v'."

Saguru cocked his head to the side. "A…'v'…card?"

Kaito nodded, smiling like there was some kind of joke that Saguru wasn't getting yet.

Then it clicked.

"Kaito, it doesn't matter to me that you're not a virgin," Saguru assured. "What you and Kudo did was not a mistake. I don't resent your relationship with him anymore, and there's no need for you to be ashamed of it."

"Still." Kaito shrugged. "I know, but…I always feel like I've cheated you out of something. I mean, sure, we've had our occasional spats, but you've been nothing short of the perfect boyfriend to me long before we were even actually dating. I'm…a lot less than perfect, Saguru. I don't think I could ever be as good to you as you are to me. You always talk about what _I_ deserve, but what about you? You deserved the real thing."

He motioned to the card in Hakuba's hand.

"Not that Shinichi didn't, but…" Kaito quickly added. "…Shinichi's imperfect like I am. I don't feel as bad sometimes not being the best boyfriend that I could be with him because I know there are times when he doesn't exactly put me first or acts selfishly, but you're different, Saguru, and I wish things could be different for us. I wish I could be three separate people so that I wouldn't have to divide my time and affection between you two. I wish I didn't love Shinichi so that I could just be yours…or maybe that you didn't love me back so that I could be with Shin-chan and you could find someone worthy of you. I just…I wish…"

"Kaito," Saguru sighed, pulling his beloved in close and resting his head against Kaito's. "Just you saying that is enough, Dove. Listen, there's something I've learned over these past few months with you, and that's that we don't see each other as the other one sees us. I often think of myself as a brilliant failure, but to you, I'm your Prince Charming. You might see yourself as a sub-par boyfriend, but to me, you're the Irene Adler to my Sherlock Holmes. I could never do any better than you, nor would I care to try. I've learned that you'll love me without my doing anything in return, and I want you to know that that goes both ways. There's nothing for you to feel guilty about, and there's no need to apologize."

"I still don't think it's fair to you…me and Shin-chan," Kaito mumbled giving Saguru a little squeeze.

"Kai, I wouldn't have it any other way," Saguru chuckled, returning the hug and then pulling back so that he was loosely holding both of Kaito's hands. "Kudo and I have become quite good friends. If you hadn't noticed, we make plans weekly to hang out without you. I'm glad that he's present in your life. It gives me a certain peace of mind to know that he'll be there for you, if I should ever not be able to. It's a relief to have another set of eyes on you with the rate at which you get into trouble."

"Hey," Kaito whined, trying hard not to smile. "…You're seriously okay with…_everything_?"

"No." Saguru grinned broadly. "I'm genuinely _happy_. Aren't you?"

Kaito paused and thought about it for a second before finally letting himself smile. "I am."

"Good. No more guilt or apologies, then; however, this," Saguru held up the v card before carefully sliding it into his breast pocket, "I will keep and treasure. Now, let's go inside before you get sick, Dove."

"Alright," Kaito chuckled, following Saguru through the rest of the courtyard to the warm lobby. "So…what's next?"

"Well, I have two options, but we can make up a third, if neither suits you." Saguru took a deep breath and bit his lip. "If you're hungry, I made a reservation at the hotel restaurant."

Kaito's eyes widened. "Saguru, this place is expensive. We could eat for a week for what you'd pay for a meal here. Let's just go get something back at your house or somewhere less…glamorous."

"Alright, but don't you want to hear about option two first?"

"What's option two?" Kaito cocked his head to the side.

"I made another reservation as well…the honeymoon suite…."

Kaito's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?"

"Yes, but please don't feel obligated to say yes because—"

"—No, Saguru. I meant…are you sure _you're_ ready for this?" Kaito asked, holding his boyfriend's gaze.

"Yes." Saguru simply smiled, reaching up to cup Kaito's cheek and gently brush his thumb across it. "I'm certain about this. I may have even studied up a bit so that I would know vaguely what I was doing."

Kaito just laughed, leaning in and giving his boyfriend a quick kiss on the lips. "Okay. Let's go."

…

The room itself was gorgeous with its canopy bed, hot tub-sized bath, and balcony with a magnificent view of the Tokyo skyline.

The boys smiled softly at each other as they entered and then took a minute to look around.

"Did you want to take a shower first, or…I suppose it may not be necessary since we both bathed before I picked you up." Saguru bit his lip, trying to remember what he had read.

"I'm fine…unless you wanted to…" Kaito chewed nervously on the inside of his cheek. He was actually feeling kind of anxious about this.

"No. I'm fine as well," Saguru assured, taking a seat on the bed. "So…where exactly do we start?"

"Well, clothes have to come off first," Kaito chuckled softly, coming over to sit down beside his detective.

Saguru looked down at his clothes and then back at Kaito. "You know, I would have had no problem ripping both of our clothes off downstairs on the dance floor, but right now it's a little…awkward."

"Tell me about it," Kaito sighed, fiddling with the fringe of his dress. "Guru, I'm nervous."

"Why are _you_ nervous?" The blonde chuckled. "You're a pro compared to me. I mean, _you've_ done this before."

"But not with you," Kaito countered.

Saguru smiled, reaching out and working the bobby pins holding Kaito's wig on out of his hair.

Kaito leant him a hand, and the wig came off.

They smiled at each other.

"I'll tell you what, Kai. You grab your overnight bag and go to the bathroom to change into your pajamas. I'll slip into my own out here. I think the fancy clothes and lavish setting are contributing to some of our hesitations about this. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kaito chuckled, giving Saguru's forehead a kiss before getting up and grabbing his bag. "Back in forty."

It was a little more than forty seconds later that Kaito returned. (Three whole minutes and three point five seconds later, but Saguru supposed that that was for his own benefit, not being as adept at the art of the quick change as his boyfriend was.)

Kaito slunk back in in his pajamas and took a seat on the bed once more. "Better, Guru?"

"Much better," Saguru chuckled, ruffling Kaito's already messy locks. "What about you? Less nervous?"

"Yeah," Kaito sighed contentedly. "Makes it feel less formal. Now if only we could be back in your bedroom, hanging out like always."

"We'd have to be very quiet if we were to do it in my bedroom," Saguru chuckled with a smirk. "…and Kudo tells me you've got quite the set of vocal chords and you enjoy using them immensely."

Kaito giggled, playfully swatting at his boyfriend. "You guys seriously talk about me when I'm not there?"

"You're our second favorite topic," Saguru informed.

"I lost out to Sherlock Holmes?" Kaito replied rigidly. "You're both in the doghouse."

"Joking, Dove."

"I'm sure you are." Kaito muttered, giving his darling a well-deserved poke. "Lie down. I'm about to put you through this overpriced mattress."

Laughing, Saguru did as bid.

Kaito tried to keep a straight face as he climbed up on top of Saguru, straddling him. "You know what I said when we talked about doing this before?"

"Which time was that?" Saguru asked, content to be sat upon.

"When I said that if we ever did this, I would be on top?"

Saguru nodded. "Yes?"

"I changed my mind." Kaito shrugged, leaning forward to brush noses with his boyfriend. "You can be on top first so long as you're not _physically_ on top of me. I don't like being pinned down the first time. If you want, maybe a little further into the evening you'll be able to persuade me onto my back, but…I've never told Shinichi, but I don't like being held down and trapped like that."

Saguru nodded, gently playing with Kaito's hair. "However you're most comfortable. I don't have any preferences yet…well…just one, and that's you. You tell me where and how you want me."

"I love it when you talk dirty," Kaito laughed merrily, kissing the tip of Saguru's nose. "I will, but foreplay first. Neither of us is really warmed up anymore…not like when we were tangoing, anyway."

Saguru smiled, nodding his consent. "I'll follow your lead."

"Good." Kaito returned the grin, only his had mischievous undertones to it. "Unlike with Shinichi, we've got all night to play, and I plan on taking full advantage of it…. First, I wanna see some skin. I've never really paid enough attention in the locker room when we change for gym, so I can't say I've actually had a proper look at that body of yours. Shirt off," Kaito purred, gently but quickly pulling off the detective's top.

Saguru gasped at the sudden cool air on his skin, but Kaito quickly restored the heat to it as his hands and lips took turns exploring Saguru's neck, arms, chest, and torso.

Kaito kept his word about being thorough as he spent the next ten minutes slowly ghosting his tongue over the entirety of Saguru's top half, seeing what kinds of reactions he could get out of his partner.

Finally, after ten minutes and thirty-six seconds exactly of wondrous torture, Saguru slipped Kaito's shirt off, purring, "My turn."

Kaito permitted Saguru to lay him down on his side on the bed and conduct similar experiments.

Saguru took extra time inspecting the old bullet wounds and thoroughly covering them in kisses.

"Guru, I'm fine," Kaito assured.

"Maybe now, but at one time you were in peril because of each and every one of those scars. I'm taking a moment to thank whatever god watched out for you and kept you alive for me during that time."

"Guru…" Kaito's whine turned into a moan as Saguru's lips touched the cluster of marks on Kaito's chest.

Kudo was sure right about one thing: Kaito was _very_ vocal.

The exploring of the upper halves finally ended (leaving many a suspicious purple mark behind), and they tentatively slipped off their pajama pants, leaving only boxers.

"What's this?" Kaito inquired, spotting a scar on Saguru's thigh.

"Just an old wound from an old case," Saguru shrugged it off, tugging off Kaito's other sock.

Kaito frowned.

Saguru sighed. "I got shot. I used to get kidnapped for one thing or another as a child due to my mother's family's money or her company or my father's rise through the ranks or what have you. It was politics, and I was a bargaining chip. Things went awry once when I struggled with my captor, the gun went off, and I was shot. I'm fine."

Kaito raised an eyebrow.

"Alright. I'm not 'fine' per say, but it doesn't matter right now. We'll talk about that trauma some other day, shall we?" Saguru bit his lip, not really wanting to stop now that they'd come so far.

Kaito nodded, giving the old wound a tender kiss.

Further exploration turned up more scars—most of them just minor nicks and grazes, but Kaito demanded an explanation of every one of them.

Saguru patiently recounted how he had been attacked and injured in most cases, but there were some funny stories behind some of the scars. Saguru blushed and looked away as he explained some of the stupid things he had been doing when he had injured himself.

The investigation turned into a foot massage for Saguru just because Kaito liked the little moans his darling made when he rubbed the right places in just the right ways.

When Saguru got his turn to explore, he found that he had a thing for Kaito's legs. They were slender, yet muscular. The calves especially intrigued him. He also discovered Kaito's ankles of perfection.

"I think I have a fetish," Saguru hummed as he kissed the bone there, much to Kaito's amusement.

Kaito just laughed and enjoyed the attention until exploration time was over.

"So…now we…?" Saguru gulped, fingering the band of Kaito's boxers.

Kaito nodded, giving Saguru's bottom lip a little nip before placing his hands on top of Saguru's and helping them pull the boxers down.

Honestly, Saguru was a little terrified—okay a lot terrified—at that point. What the hell was he doing? Why had he said that he was ready for this? Sure, he wanted it more than anything, but what if it wasn't any good? Surely Kudo would be a tough act to follow, and what if—?

All the thoughts stopped as he looked at his true love.

The look in Kaito's eye told him everything he needed to know.

Kaito loved him and was just as nervous as he was.

He smiled, leaning forward and crushing his lips to his beloved's.

…

"You okay?" Saguru whispered as Kaito curled up around him, looking half-asleep.

"Un," Kaito grunted, giving Saguru's throat a sloppy kiss.

Saguru chuckled, pulling the comforter up around them. "Is there anything you want? Anything I can do for you?"

Kaito brought his hand up from Saguru's chest and put it over his mouth. "Shh. Just hold me."

"Mm," Saguru grunted back, beginning to trace patterns on Kaito's back with his fingertips.

Truthfully, he just wanted to talk. They'd just made love, and it was phenomenal. He wanted to tell Kaito everything he meant to Saguru. He wanted to tell Kaito how much he adored him and what he wanted for them as a couple in the future and how he imagined their life together would be and the names of their children and a million of the other things that were flying through his mind right now, but…Kaito looked tired—utterly content, yet exhausted.

Kaito had every right to be. Being on the receiving end of things looked to hurt a bit, and Kaito must be sore and drained.

Saguru held his mate a little closer and gently began kissing Kaito's face and neck.

Kaito sighed, opening his eyes and propping himself up on his elbow. "What is it?"

Saguru opened his mouth and then closed it again. He shook his head. "I love you."

Kaito smiled softly. "I know. Is that why you're so antsy? I'm trying to bask in the afterglow here."

Saguru shrugged. "I'm sorry. I just…"

Kaito shook his head, lowering back down so that he was resting on Saguru's chest. "It's fine. If you wanna talk, talk, but I'm going to bask. Keep doing what you're doing with your fingers, though."

"You're like a giant cat," Saguru chuckled, resuming his ministrations.

"Hmm," Kaito hummed, closing his eyes and trying to get comfortable again.

Saguru chatted for about a minute or two before Kaito sighed, pushing himself up again.

"Problem?" Saguru raised an eyebrow at his lover.

"Moment's over. Time for round two." Kaito smirked.

Saguru blinked. "Just how many times do you do this in a night?"

"As many as possible." Kaito grinned, showing his rather pointy teeth.

Saguru nodded.

…

At around nine o'clock they ordered room service and took turns feeding each other until Kaito turned the affaire into another tumbling match.

"You alright?" Kaito whispered, gently stroking Saguru's hair as he lay down on the bed beside the blonde.

"Mm," Saguru grunted, still trying to catch his breath. That _had_ hurt.

"I think that's enough for tonight," Kaito chuckled, trailing a line of kisses down Saguru's jaw. "Good work."

"As good as with Kudo?" Saguru couldn't help but ask.

Kaito paused, raising his head to look down at his boyfriend. "Wanna hear a secret? I'll kill you if you breathe a word of this to Shinichi, but this time was my favorite. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying you're better than he is—because you each have your own strong points—but it _is_ nice to be able to take your time and really enjoy it. I hate having a time limit, so this was really nice…plus, I know you'll still be by my side in the morning."

Saguru sighed contentedly, reaching up to stroke Kaito's cheek. "Good. Shall we get cleaned up and ready for bed, then?"

"Yeah, before the hormone-induced high wears off and you realize how sore you are," Kaito chuckled, giving Saguru a hand up when a thought occurred to him. "You know what? I've never done it in a shower before."

Saguru shook his head. "Maybe next time."

…...

Mikau: Yay! I'm actually quite pleased with this chapter. If you'd like to see some more Tango like Kaito and Hakuba were doing, Youtube Strictly Come Dancing. Watch Tom and Camilla and Kara and Artem. As a side note on my other works, you all can expect the second chapter of A Handful of Roses sometime within the week. It kind of became a multi-chapter HakuKaiShin threesome/love triangle fic. It was originally supposed to be a one-/two-shot. Oops. Updates on that will be slow. I'm focusing most of my efforts on CTM right now. Also, once I get CTM finished, I want to work on Over the Edge. We're entering the final arc of CTM starting next chapter, entitled "The Beginning of the End". Relax. We've still got about…one hundred pages (?) worth of content left, but chapters are probably going to be lengthier and longer between them. It's going to get dark and dramatic, guys. I'm excited. Are you excited? Anyway, thanks so much for reading and sticking with me. It'd be appreciated if you'd drop me a line on your way out. Thanks a bunch! Take care!


	64. The Beginning of the End

Mikau: Hi guys! Guess what. Tomorrow (March 10th) is my birthday! Yay! My mummsie got me an ice cream cake with Conan on it. It was pretty awesome (and delicious). In other news, for all of you that read The Healing Process, I got a lot of reviews saying that you were looking forward to the next chapter, and I thought "Shoot. It was supposed to be a one-shot!" But now ideas for four more chapters have come to me, so you get your chapter fic. I hope you're happy. I'm planning on getting out a new chapter sometime in the next two weeks, but don't quote me on that. I also wanted to let you know that even though this is "The Beginning of the End", we've still got a ways to go. I want to thank you all for your support and encouragement so far. Thank you for helping me be the best writer I can be with all of your thoughtful feedback. I truly appreciate you guys! Thanks to the reviewers from last chapter: MeridianGrimm, GeekyGenius, patternleap, MeitanteiRose, Loner Kid, SenkoHasegawa, and Bunnyz-chan!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Kaito would be a Pisces. He has much more of a Gemini/Cancer cusp personality, though, so I guess it's a good thing Aoyama-sensei's the one who owns DC/MK.

…

The Beginning of the End

"I'm tired," Saguru whined, letting his head rest on the café table. "Whenever we spend time together nowadays, he always tries to get me in bed with him. I've tried saying no, but he pouts and I feel guilty and I end up sleeping with him anyway, but I'm tired. I don't know where he gets his energy, but I simply _can't_ keep up anymore. This past week and a half has been exhausting."

Conan just giggled. "Sorry. It's just that some people would call you lucky, but I get it. He really does have the sex drive of three people, doesn't he? It's hard to keep him happy."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Saguru sighed tilting his head to the side so that he could look up at his friend.

"How many times per week would be reasonable for you?" Conan smiled, taking a sip of his battery acid masquerading as coffee.

"Two nights a week...three if both of us feel up to it, but I want one night to myself, and the rest I just want to spend time with him. I don't care if we end up making out at any point in time, but I want it to be clear that making out is all we're going to be doing. Nowadays I can't even touch him without having to worry about ending up naked, and it's draining. Part of me is hoping he'll lose interest in me soon so that I'll be able to climb into a bed without having to preform acrobatic feats."

"I'll talk to him," Conan chuckled. "Poor Hakuba."

"Honestly, Ku—Edogawa, how have you been keeping him at bay all through December, January, and February?" Saguru sighed, lifting his head and taking a drink of his now lukewarm tea.

Conan smiled innocently. "We may only get to truly be together one day out of the month, but Kaito and I have devised other ways of keeping him happy. I was wondering why he hadn't requested my services lately. Seems like you're keeping him pretty satisfied."

"I'm afraid we'll need to share that responsibility; I'm spent at the moment." Saguru sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"We'll get this worked out, Hakuba," Conan assured. "I mean, we can't have you so exhausted when we'll both need to be in top shape for when the Kid heists start up again. It could be any week now."

Saguru blinked, Kudo's words getting through to his slightly foggy, sleep-deprived mind. "That's right. Chikage-san grounded him for three months, and that time is almost up. I'd forgotten…. I don't want him to go out there again."

Conan nodded, a pensive look coming over his face. "I know. Me either, but…he says it's something he's gotta do, and he says he has to do it on his own."

"I just wish he would let us help…at least tell us what's going on so that we could combine our intellects and come up with an alternative solution." Saguru sighed, peeling himself off of the table and sitting up straight.

"Hey, let's talk about something else," Kudo suggested, trying to distract them both. "I was looking at that article you mentioned the other day, and I noticed…"

…

Saguru returned home about two hours later, after he had finished his pleasant chat with Kudo—it really was nice to have a real discussion with someone who understood—and he found none other than Kuroba Kaito in his kitchen with Baaya.

"Hey," Kaito greeted, noticeably lacking the enthusiasm he usually had in abundance. "Welcome home."

"Hey," Saguru returned, going over to give Baaya a kiss on the cheek before turning and doing the same to Kaito. "Something the matter, Dove?"

Kaito shrugged, motioning upstairs.

Saguru nodded, saying a few words to Baaya before following after his boyfriend.

Kaito took a seat on their couch, shoulders slumped and hands resting between his legs on the back sides of his knees. "So…Shin-chan called me about what you guys talked about."

Saguru blinked in confusion for a moment.

Kudo had called Kaito to talk about the various portrayals of Irene Adler?

Kaito continued before Saguru's tired mind could grasp the topic of conversation. "I mean, is there something I'm not doing right? Or something you don't like about it? We could always play around with positions…or maybe, if it's not exciting enough, toys or costumes or…I mean I'm willing to try pretty much anything once, if you—"

"—Oh." It finally clicked. "Kaito, no. I…Sorry. I haven't been getting enough sleep lately, so I'm not really functioning at my usual level. I had no idea what we were talking about for a minute there. No. Clearly Kudo didn't explain very well when you two spoke. _Quality_ is not the issue. It's quantity. Your libido is running me ragged. I'd very much like to make love to you just as often as you'd like, but I'm just not able to. I don't have your stamina, so I'm afraid that we won't be able to keep going at this pace."

"Oh." Kaito hummed, uncurling from his defensive position. "Hm. Shin-chan says that about me too. So…I'm not doing anything wrong?"

"Definitely not. I'd be hard pressed to identify any way in which you could improve…. It just comes back to what I told you at the beginning of our relationship. We need balance. I'd like a boyfriend and a best friend in addition to a lover. We need to flesh ourselves out in each of those roles for each other, if we are to continue to be successful."

Kaito smiled, getting up and giving Saguru's ear a playful nip. "'Kay. So everything's good between us now?"

"Yes, Dove." Saguru mirrored the gesture.

"Good. Then I'm gonna say goodbye to Baaya and head home. My mom and Hiro-san are leaving on a cruise tonight, and I wanna go see them off. You get a good night's sleep, Sleeping Beauty." With one last kiss, Kaito was out the door.

Saguru, however, did not get a good night's sleep.

His father came into his room at around two-o-three in the morning (Saguru was a little disoriented, so his count of the seconds was a bit off) and woke him roughly, saying, "Saguru. Get up and get dressed. There's a big case, and we need all of the help we can get. Come out to the car in ten minutes, and don't eat anything."

Dazed, the detective climbed out of bed and pulled on suitable clothes for the nippy March morning. He wondered at his father's order not to eat anything before going out to the car.

"What happened, Father?" Saguru tentatively asked the Superintendent as they pulled out of the driveway.

He could tell that his father was on edge. Whatever it was, it was very, very bad.

"No one knows yet, but there are body parts from multiple corpses in the plaza outside of Beika Station, and we've got less than three hours until the trains start running. We've got to get this cleaned up and sorted out before the media gets a whiff of this, so we need as many hands as we can get."

Saguru nodded and remained quiet until they arrived at a public parking garage close to the station.

The majority of the plaza was hidden from view by a large white tent that foreigners in crime scene wear were coming in and out of with body parts. They seemed to be taking them to another tent that had been set up in the middle of one of the lanes of the street.

Catching his son's eye, Superintendent Hakuba frowned. "Saguru, don't talk to any of those people unless you can't avoid it. They're dangerous."

Saguru frowned but nodded anyway. Now that he looked again, the foreigners were kind of freaky, the way they emotionlessly walked back and forth carrying the human organs as if they were completely indifferent to it all.

"You!" His father barked to an in-charge-looking officer as he flashed his badge. "What's the situation?"

The officer gave the Superintendent a sharp salute. "Sir, the Special Interests Unit is currently sifting through the scene inside of that tent there and bringing out parts as they find them. The parts are being sorted and recorded by some of our best in that other tent there, but…until we know for sure how many bodies there are and determine what parts go with which victim, we won't be able to identify them and find out who did this to them. I'm sorry, Sir, but until they've sorted through this mess, we won't know anything for sure."

"Dammit," Saguru's father growled. "Who can I speak to that knows more about this than you?"

"The Special Interests Unit's ambassador is the one that's mainly been in charge of things," the officer offered.

The Superintendent cursed again under his breath. "Their ambassador isn't still Crystal Monroe, is it?"

"OI!" a vaguely familiar voice shouted across the plaza before the officer could answer. "Coronel Mustang!"

"Why me?" Superintendent Hakuba sighed, turning to face the banshee of a woman that was storming towards them.

Saguru turned pale when he recognized her. It was that sniper from several months ago—Kaito's Kiku-chan.

"Monroe," the Superintendent greeted levelly as the smaller blonde drew closer. "You needn't shout and wake the entire city."

"I'll shout whenever I please," the fiery blonde spat, tearing the bloody latex gloves from her hands and throwing them to the ground. "This is ludicrous! My people are highly skilled human weapons. We were not breed like animals and trained from birth in order to pick body parts up off of the sidewalk. We are soldiers. We're supposed to be busting smugglers and human traffickers and drug lords and fighting crime from the shadows in ways that your police and self-defense force can't.

"And another thing! Even though we've been brainwashed from an early age to be desensitized to violence and indifferent to gore, that doesn't mean we should be used to clean up viscera. You have people for that."

Superintendent Hakuba sighed. "Look at your people, Monroe. They don't care. The people that were supposed to be doing this are busy enjoying their breakfasts a second time. They can't handle the carnage, so your freak squad got called in."

Kiku-chan looked at her people, calmly filing in and out of the tents with various organs in their hands. She sighed. "It's still gross."

"Brief me," the Superintendent sighed again.

"We've been working a little less than an hour, and we've found thousands of little pieces so far. They're tiny, Corporal, and there's so much more left to go. A security guard stumbled across this mess at one thirty, and he's in shock right now. I'm _used_ to seeing human insides, and even I feel a little queasy. You have to sit on this, Captain, until we know who these people are and how and why they were killed. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time, and commuters are gonna be flooding this area for the first train at five o'clock. The media's gonna be all over this and you, Lieutenant."

"What can you tell me so far? Is there anything that we can give them to keep them from knocking down my door and jumping down our throats?" Saguru's father bit his lip.

Chrisy shrugged. "Tell them we've found six hearts so far. That'll give them some semblance of a body count. Tell them…what you usually tell them, Major. Tell them your best people are on it, there's no need to panic, and you'll find the monster that did this."

"Hey!" another familiar voice called out, and Kei-san, the man that had saved Kaito's life when he'd been shot, came trotting up to them. "Lily 'n Ruby found some fingers, so the crime lab guys should be able t' run the prints an' see if we have a person to go with 'em. Also…Jay 'n Ai found a skull."

"Yeah?" Chrisy turned her head as her boyfriend (?) wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"It's a baby," Kei continued quietly.

"Dammit," the Superintendent hissed. "We need to cordon off this entire area, close Beika Station, and get surveillance tapes from the surrounding area. We have to get a handle on this before the press finds out and has a field day."

"This is bad," Chrisy whispered. "Kei, tell everybody to work double time. I want the mess cleaned up by six thirty, and then we're gonna help the police hunt this sicko down."

"Rodger." He gave her a salute and started to turn to leave. The corner of his mouth arched upwards slightly when he caught sight of Saguru standing in his father's shadow. "Hey, Hakuba-kun."

Chrisy blinked, suddenly paying a great deal more attention to her surroundings. "Goldilocks? What are you doing here?"

"He's wi' his dad, Chris." Kei shrugged. "He _is_ a detective after all, and we're gonna need as many o' those as we kin get."

"You know my son?" Superintendent Hakuba seethed.

"We've run into each other before." Chrisy shrugged. "Didn't know he was your son until a few seconds ago, but I guess that makes sense seeing as you have the same last name."

"You stay away from him," Saguru's father snapped like a grizzly bear.

Chrisy laughed, easily shaking the implied threat off. "Don't worry; I wouldn't hurt him. His boyfriend is like a little brother to me. So long as the Kiddo's happy, your son's safe."

Saguru's face went just as white as his father's did red.

Superintendent Hakuba turned on his son. "Your _boy_friend?"

Saguru froze, taking a deep breath before nodding.

"Is _that_ the reason why there have been several hotel room charges on your card these past few weeks?" The Superintendent look downright rabid.

Saguru nodded.

"And here I thought you'd finally taken an interest in girls…" He raised his hand to strike. "…you disgusting, perverse little—"

"—I would think very hard before you finish that sentence," Chrisy Monroe said in a low growl, and when Saguru opened his eyes, he was shocked to see that she was holding a tiny pistol to the side of his father's ribcage. "I would think about what I said about how your son was dating my little brother. I would think about how many of my people are here verses how many of yours, Superintendent, and I'd think about how unhappy the ambassador of the Special Interests Unit would be if her little brother got his heart broken. You will not lay a hand on your son, and you will joyously welcome my little brother into your home as your son-in-law. They have my protection, Constable, and, if I were you, I'd remember that even though you don't like me, I'm well-liked by a veritable army of very dangerous people."

Chrisy turned to Saguru and smiled. "Consider yourself married."

"G-Gladly," Saguru stuttered. "Thank you."

Chrisy shrugged, putting the gun back at the small of her back.

"Chrysanthemum!" Another foreigner (that Saguru could only deduce was some sort of secret agent/assassin) came running up to their group. "Pearl and Elle found this attached to the fountain."

"Thanks, Em." Chrisy put on another glove and reached out for the piece of paper.

Her face paled.

"I think I know who our sicko is," she mumbled.

Kei raised an eyebrow, leaning over Chrisy's shoulder to look at the note. He sighed, shaking his head as he stepped back.

Saguru stepped forward to look as well, and what he saw chilled him to the bone.

On the bloodstained piece of paper, written in bold, rusty red letters was: "Come out and play." and a Kid caricature.

"Who?" the Superintendent demanded, quickly getting over his son's impromptu coming out and Chrisy's subsequent threat on his life.

"How much do you know about my organization's Project 1412?" Chrisy sighed.

"That nut-job that my son's chasing? Is _he_ responsibly for this?!"

"No!" Chrisy shrieked, the very idea preposterous to her. "No," she whispered. "Agent 1412 was killed nearly a decade ago by the shadowy organization he was trying to unearth and defeat. His replacement is currently after them now, and I think that organization is the one that did this…in order to lure Kid out." Chrisy tipped the paper forward, showing it to the Superintendent.

"What can I do to help?" Saguru demanded. He had to get to the bottom of this. He had to find out the severity of the situation and determine the best method of protecting Kaito both physically and mentally.

He would assure that those monsters never got their hands on his Kaito.

Chrisy blinked, surprised at the detective's sudden enthusiasm. "Well…we need help in the tent putting the bodies back together. There won't be much detective work to do until we have bodies to analyze."

"Right." Saguru nodded, heading towards the indicated tent.

…

After an hour or so of work, they had determined that they had at least ten different bodies, and half an hour later, the total had gone up to twelve.

At five o'clock, Saguru took a break to get a very light breakfast at Coffee Arabia, not five feet from the crime scene.

The media was starting to gather, snapping photos and taking video, trying to get an interview with anyone that would talk.

Saguru, of course, was accosted as he slipped past police lines and into the coffee shop, but he kept his head down, face turned away from the cameras, and kept walking.

He made a beeline for the restroom where he pulled out his phone and called Baaya. Next, he texted Kudo to alert him of the real situation. Finally, he called Kaito.

"Guru?" the still sleeping magician mumbled. "It's like four in the morning."

"Five, Dove. I need you to listen to me and listen closely. Are you awake enough to do that?" Saguru whispered, hoping his voice wouldn't carry.

"What's the matter?" Kaito sounded infinitely more awake than he had seconds before.

"Darling, when does your mother get home?"

"In two weeks. Why?" Kaito pressed, sitting up in bed and checking his alarm clock.

"Good. Just making sure that you were the only one I had to worry about, Love."

"Saguru, why? What's going on?" Kaito demanded.

"Darling, do you trust me?"

"You know I do. Now tell me why the hell you're calling at five in the morning, asking me that. Saguru, what the hell happened?"

"Something terrible, but I don't want you to worry, Dove. I'm fine. You're safe. Your mother is safe. Edogawa is fine for the time being, but you're going to be staying with me for…maybe a week or two. Baaya's coming over to get you now, so go with her and make yourself at home in my room until I get there.

"Just rest. Don't go to school, don't read the newspaper, and don't turn on the Tele until I get there, Dove. Promise me."

"Saguru, tell me what happened," Kaito growled, getting up and throwing everything he'd need for two weeks into a duffle.

"There's a case. I'm investigating right now, so I can't come be with you at the moment, but I swear to tell you everything when I get home. I won't withhold anything, Kaito, so please be patient and trust me. I'll explain fully then, but I want to be the one to tell you, so…please, Love," Saguru begged, willing his boyfriend to be less…stubborn and inquisitive for once.

"Fine. I'll go with Baaya and watch movies or something until you get home, but as soon as you do, you owe me bedtime and then explanations. 'Kay?" Kaito sighed.

"Thank you," Saguru sighed in genuine relief. "I love you."

"Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Weirdo." Kaito shrugged, hanging up and finishing his packing.

…

By noon the plaza had been sterilized, and the body parts were busy being sorted into fourteen different people. Things were moving fast since they had hundreds of people working to piece the victims back together again.

Even with all the manpower, it was still a daunting task, and at four o'clock Saguru decided it was time to go home and face Kaito.

He found where Kudo was lurking about the scene and smiled, beckoning for the smaller sleuth to come with him.

"New info?" Conan asked hopefully, relying on the seemingly older detective for clues since he was thought of as too young to be involved in an investigation of this sort.

Saguru shook his head, motioning for Conan to follow. "Enough for one day; we're going home to our wife. I'm tired, mentally scarred, and hungry as a lion. There's no more that we can do here until the bodies are reconstructed. Besides, Miss Monroe said that she'd give me a call when there were any new developments. Right now, we have to go explain all this to Kaito."

"He's gonna blame himself," Conan sighed. "The organization's probably trying to call him out since he's been inactive these past few months. Poor Kaito."

"Maybe…we shouldn't tell him about the 'Come out and play' note with the Kid caricature in blood?" Saguru mused.

"He'd be absolutely furious with us, if we held out on him. Kaito doesn't take well to lies and half-truths," Conan warned.

"I know," Saguru sighed. "He's going to do something rash and get himself killed."

"Yeah." Conan stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"How do we keep him from the brave acts of stupidity he's so disposed to?" Saguru turned to his little partner in crime and prayed that the smaller detective had the answers.

Conan shook his head.

…

"Shin-chan?" Kaito cocked his head to the side when not one, but two detectives made their way into Saguru's bedroom. "What's going on guys? I've been trapped up here all day with very little entertainment and very little explanation, so…spill."

"Please sit," Saguru sighed, motioning to the couch. He signaled for Conan to come as well and take a seat on Kaito's lap.

"Yeah?" Kaito looked from one boyfriend to the other. "That serious?"

Conan nodded. "Yeah, Kaito. It's that serious. There were some murders this morning—a whole bunch of bodies dumped outside of Beika Station."

Kaito blinked, looking back and forth between detectives again. "How many?"

"Fourteen," Saguru confirmed. "They were chopped up into fine pieces of human mincemeat, and we've been trying to put them back together all day."

Kaito mouthed the word fourteen a few times before shaking his head. "Wait. What does this have to do with me? Why did you send me here and forbid me from using the TV and all that?"

"Because we were afraid you might do something foolish," Saguru confessed, placing a hand on Kaito's knee. "Dove, there's something you have to know, but you have to promise to remain calm and rational. We'll sort all of this out together."

"What is it?" Kaito gulped, wondering if he truly wanted to know.

"We think that the criminal responsible for this did it to draw you out, Kaito," Conan explained.

"There was a note found by the bodies that said 'Come out and play'. It had one of Kid's doodles on it," Saguru continued. "Kaito, Miss Monroe seems to think that it's that organization that you're after. I'm guessing these are the same people that have been shooting at you?"

The magician-thief's mouth flapped open and closed several times as he leaned back further into the couch. "They killed _fourteen_ people because of me."

"Kaito, it's okay," Conan cooed, giving Kaito's torso a light squeeze. "We're gonna get these bastards together."

"No! You guys can't get involved!" Kaito shrieked, holding Conan tight in one arm and grabbing Saguru with the free hand. "I can't lose you two."

"We feel the same about you," Saguru pointed out. "So you mustn't do anything brave and self-sacrificing. Your father would not want you to give up your life for the cause too, Kai. Do you understand that?"

"But…if they're hurting innocent people—" the thief argued.

"—The police will take care of it," Conan replied firmly.

"Kaito, you are eighteen years old," Saguru growled. "Your father was an adult when he took up that mantle, but you are still just a child. Your father would want you to live your life and let the authorities handle it. I doubt he intended for you to put on that suit and put your life on the line in the first place. 1412 should have stayed dead and buried. Now promise us that you'll stay out of this."

Kaito frowned, pulling away from the blonde. "Saguru, how can I? Would you? Look me in the eye and tell me that you'd hide in your bedroom while some crazy syndicate from hell went around killing people."

Saguru sighed, closing his eyes.

"Kaito has a point," Conan spoke up. "Hakuba, neither of us would sit on the sidelines and let some killers do what they please. We can't tell Kaito to stay put while we and the police handle it."

"Hmph." Kaito smirked triumphantly.

"_But_," Conan added, "Hakuba's right, Kaito. There's nothing you can do without putting your life in danger."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Kaito huffed, setting his smaller boyfriend down on the couch so that he could get up and pace. "It's obvious that they're getting agitated because I haven't shown my face in three months. More than that. Something's happened. Something big for them to risk being exposed to the light of day. Normally they're so secretive about their existence. If they say 'come out and play', I have to schedule a heist and—"

"—What? Get shot?!" Conan barked. "NO, Kaito."

"Then what?!" the thief retorted.

"Calm down, the both of you," Saguru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Arg! How can I?!" Kaito growled. "Fourteen people are dead, Sherlock!"

"Please," Saguru whispered, looking up pleadingly at his beloved. He stood and took Kaito's hands in his own. "Please, Dove."

Kaito took a deep breath and let it go, losing his steam. He let his head drop to Saguru's shoulder. "What?" he mumbled, sounding exhausted.

"Kudo and I are working to solve the murders," Saguru explained softly as Conan came over and attached himself to Kaito's leg. "We're going to discover who the victims were, how they were killed, where they were killed, and who killed them. Your organization may have managed to hide in the shadows up until this point, but there is no way that they can sweep such a public spectacle as this under the rug. Once we find them, they will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. If you feel that you must do something, help Kudo and me with the investigation."

"Kaito, we're not trying to tell you that you have to sit at home and let the bad guys win," Conan sighed, squeezing a little tighter. "We just want you to be safe. I'm sorry, but I don't trust you to go out there up against those guys and then come back to me in one piece. They're deadly, and their aim seems to be getting better and better. If you go out there as Kid like they want, you won't be coming home, and Hakuba and I…we can't live without you. You _know_ you'd just be throwing your life away, right?"

Kaito sighed again, bending down to scoop Conan up. He wrapped one arm around each boyfriend and rested his head right up against Saguru's neck. "Yeah. I know, but…I feel like I'm…like I should…I mean, it's my fault these people are dead, right?"

"No!" both detectives chorused.

"Kaito, you shouldn't blame yourself for what these sickos did," Conan insisted. "They did this to try to get to you. If you give in and start thinking that it's your fault, you're letting them win."

"Don't torment yourself over this, Dove. It's exactly what they want you to do," Saguru backed his co-boyfriend up.

Kaito sighed softly. "I can't help feeling guilty. Fourteen innocent people lost their lives. I feel like I owe it to them to go out there and risk mine doing the right thing too."

"Kaito, running out there half-cocked and getting yourself killed is the coward's way out," Conan hissed, running a hand through his lover's hair.

"Throwing away your life because of your guilty conscience will not solve anything, Dove. It will only serve to make me furious with you. Kudo and I do not wish to be widowed at such a young age. Don't you have any reservations at all about leaving us behind?" Saguru spat.

"Or do you not love us enough?" Conan challenged.

Kaito pulled back and looked imploringly at his two loves. "Shin-chan…Guru…of _course_ I love you guys. Of course I don't want to leave you. It's just…I'm sorry. I'm so confused, and I…I'm not feeling so well."

"Shh," Saguru whispered, pressing his forehead to Kaito's and gently stroking the back of his dove's head. "It's alright. Why don't you lie down for a spell? Kudo and I will just be next-door in the study working on the case. We'll come and get you when dinner is ready; how does that sound?"

Conan was about to protest when Saguru gave him a look.

Kaito nodded, peeling away.

Conan surreptitiously stuck a tracking sticker to the back of Kaito's shirt before his boyfriend set him down.

Saguru took Kaito by the hand and led him over to the bed. "Will you be alright by yourself, Darling?"

Kaito nodded, taking a seat on the bed. He looked lost.

"If you need us, just call out. We should be able to hear you without a problem; we all know what your vocal chords are capable of," Saguru teased, patting his beloved on the head. "Promise us you'll still be here when we come to get you?"

Kaito nodded again. "Don't worry. I'm not going to run off and get myself killed the minute you turn your backs…at least not tonight, anyway. Go work on your case; I'm just gonna sleep."

Saguru leaned in and kissed Kaito on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Love. Call if you need anything."

"You better be here when we get back," Conan growled, storming over to the bed and pulling himself up so that he could give Kaito a kiss too. "I'm gonna be super pissed if I find you gone."

"I know," Kaito chuckled weakly, trying to smile for his loved ones' benefit. "I promise I'll be good, Shin-chan."

"You know I'm only livid 'cause I love you, right?" Conan grumbled.

"I _know_, Shinichi," Kaito assured, lying down and getting comfortable. "Night night."

"Damn thief," Conan sighed, kissing his boyfriend once more for good measure before sliding off the bed and making his way to the door. He looked back and raised an eyebrow at Hakuba. "Coming?"

Saguru gave Kaito one last glance before getting up to follow.

…

Mikau: Okay. Now everybody take a deep breath. What do you think? Was it exciting or just too overdramatic? Honestly, what did you think? I'm excited about this final arc. Well, there's still the epilogue-y stuff, but for all intents and purposes, this is where we start to wrap things up. Then, after I clean my writing plate off a little bit, I want to focus on Over the Edge. I'm kind of thinking of doing one of those fics where you write a chapter for every day of the month in April, though, and, if that goes well, I might do one for May too. "April Showers" and "May Flowers" respectively. April Showers at least will be a KaiShin drabble collection with interwoven plot. I'm toying with the idea right now. I kind of want to see if I'm up to the challenge of getting a new chapter posted every day. I used to do that when I was writing in the Shaman King fandom. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me thus far, guys! Have a good one!


	65. Emotions on High

Mikau: Hi guys! Thanks so much for all of the birthday wishes. I had a great day. Thanks as well to the reviewers from last chapter: MeitanteiRose, patternleap, Bunnyz-chan, Mikki, MaiaLynn, and Girl on the Computer! I just started two new classes, Legal Writing and Torts (personal injury), and both look like they're going to be pretty intense as far as the work load goes. I'll try to update semi-regularly, but I just want to apologize in advance for the slowdown in my work. Thanks for your continued support, guys! You rock!

Disclaimer: Okay, so in past disclaimers I've noted the horrible English in Detective Conan. I would like to retract my statement in regards to the London arc (around episode 616). I could actually understand the "English" as well as the Japanese speaking for once. It was a HUGE improvement. _Conan's_ English is even sounding a little better. Good job guys! That being said, I still don't own anything. Drat.

…

Emotions on High

"I can't make any sense of these murders," Saguru sighed, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose as he looked at the reports that had come in. "And you're being distracting, Kudo. Please, if you would, sit still. Kaito's right next door; there's no need to pace like a caged lion."

"I can't help it," the smaller sleuth snapped. "He's going to do something stupid and get himself killed; I just know it!"

"Someday, yes, but for now he's taking a nap. Please. Sit." The blonde suppressed his urge to growl at his co-boyfriend. "Be productive."

Conan sighed, grabbing one of the loose pages Hakuba was looking over and sinking into one of the study's grand wingback chairs. "I don't know how you think I'll be any help, if _you_ can't get it."

"Hush. We both know that you are…well, maybe a bit better than I am at putting obscure clues together," the Brit admitted.

"I don't see anything." Conan shrugged after looking over the paper for less than thirty seconds.

"_Seriously_, Kudo." This time Saguru did growl a bit. "Fourteen people are dead."

The shrunken Heisei Holmes raised and dropped his shoulders again. "I can't. I'm not focused."

Saguru sighed heavily. "Ugh. Fine. Go check on him. It's been twenty minutes. I guarantee he's sound asleep and not in need of what little protection you could provide him in your current state."

Conan stuck out his tongue at his friend as he made a beeline for the door.

He returned seconds later, ghostly pale. "He's gone."

Saguru blinked. And then he mentally cursed in such a fashion that would have done Nakamori-keibu proud.

Saguru calmly stood and went around the corner to peek into his room. Seeing that his mate was, indeed, missing, he sighed. "You stuck a tracker on him, yes? Where is he?"

"He probably found it and took it off. It's still registering as inside the manor." Conan cursed bitterly under his breath.

"Kai?" Hakuba shouted down the stairwell.

"Yeah?" came a reply from the kitchen.

"Never mind!" Saguru called back.

He glared at the mini-tantei. "In the words of Kuroba Kaito, 'Overreaction much?'"

"Maybe a little," Conan returned sheepishly. "Sorry, Hakuba."

"Don't worry about it." Saguru shrugged it off easily, returning to the study and the case. "It's perfectly understandable. I just wish you could trust him more."

"He's done nothing to deserve my trust," Conan snorted, following the taller teen. "In fact, if we take his track record into consideration, it'll only prove that he has a penchant for doing idiotic stunts that nearly get him killed."

"Your point is duly noted." Saguru picked up a manila file folder and handed it to the older boy. "Now, work, Kudo. I need that brain of yours to keep the men I love safe."

"Right." Conan took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. "You're right."

…

After another twenty minutes had passed without any leads, the detective duo headed downstairs into Baaya's domain where they found their timeshare boyfriend and aforementioned nanny chatting aimlessly.

Kaito lazily raised his head off of the kitchen counter as the other teens came in. "Hey. Any luck?"

Conan shook his head sadly, scaling one of the barstools surrounding the island where Kaito was seated. "None of the eight we have info on seem to be connected in any way."

The thief gave a pensive "Hmm."

"You decided not to nap after all, Kaito?" Saguru changed the subject as he came to stand across the counter from the other two.

Kaito shook his head sadly. "Bad dreams."

Conan and Saguru made thoughtful noises.

"No need to be so down, you three," Baaya chimed in. "You're too young to be so serious."

"It's a pretty gruesome case, Baaya," Conan explained. "A lot of people were killed."

"And what they need isn't a pity party," she pointed out. "They need justice, so cheer up and take care of yourselves so that you'll be able to do your job."

"She has a good point," Kaito sighed, sitting up a little straighter and stretching. "How about you guys take a break after dinner and we play cards or a board game or something?" Kaito suggested. "You two look a little burnt out…and I could kind of use a bit of a distraction myself," the magician laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You cheat," Conan chuckled.

"So do you." Kaito stuck out his tongue.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Saguru smirked, going over to help Baaya finish up the—thankfully—vegetarian dinner. "I'm game…if you'll excuse the pun."

Kaito rolled his eyes, getting up to help carry the dishes into the dining room.

After dinner, Kaito fleeced both of his boyfriends at poker, though Conan had held his own pretty well. Saguru, after getting his rear handed to him twice, began using some of the same underhanded tactics as his opponents, but, in the end, Kaito won all four games.

Next, they played a few games of Clue—a game more in the detectives' favor, but the magician won two out of the three games as well.

"How does one cheat at Clue?" Saguru muttered under his breath, his left eye twitching.

"Hmm." The mini-sleuth scratched the back of his head. "Maybe we should just watch a movie or something?"

"Oh! Grosse Pointe Blank!" Kaito exclaimed.

Saguru and Conan stared at Kaito in surprise, caught off-guard by their boyfriend's sudden enthusiasm.

"I mean…if no one else has any suggestions." Kaito shrugged with a sheepish grin.

"I have…no objections." Saguru blinked before a fond smile came to is face. "Can you get it set up while I go downstairs to make some popcorn?"

Kaito's eyes lit up. "Are you going to add nuts and chocolate?"

"As always," Saguru chuckled. "Shall I fetch some battery acid—I mean coffee—for you, Kudo?"

"Battery acid sounds lovely," Conan snorted. "Thanks, Hakuba."

Two hours later, only the teen drinking battery acid was able to keep his eyes open, and it became apparent that bedtime was imminent.

"But I'm not sleepy," Kaito whined like a three year-old.

"Who's the gradeschooler here?" Conan snickered.

"You can barely keep your eyes open, Dove." Saguru himself suppressed a yawn.

"I'm not tired." Kaito's head began to tip forward.

"Is there a reason you don't want to go to sleep, Kai-chan?" Conan cooed, lovingly massaging the younger brunette's scalp.

Kaito mumbled incoherently. Something about bad dreams.

"Would sleeping together help?" Conan offered.

Saguru's face went as red as aged pinot noir wine.

Kaito snapped to attention.

"I meant _sleeping_. JUST sleeping," Conan sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Aww," Kaito whined, eyeing Saguru. "Do you think maybe we could…?"

"Heavens, no!" the British detective squeaked. "I'm tired…and I have a headache…and Kudo's here!"

"I don't mind," Conan chuckled.

"Besides," Saguru went on in a bit of a tizzy, "Kaito, do you really think that that's what you need right now?"

"No," the magician sighed, squeezing Conan a little tighter and letting his head drop to rest on Saguru's shoulder. "Let's just snuggle; any love-making now would just be escapism…. Though it'd be nice…all of us together." Kaito yawned, snuggling closer.

"Time to go to sleep, Love." Saguru smiled fondly at his mate as he took Conan from Kaito. "Go change into your night clothes. We'll clean up here."

"Un," Kaito grunted, rolling off the couch and going to the guestroom to change.

"He seems to be doing better," Conan hummed, please with his boyfriend's improvement.

"I'm still worried about how well he'll sleep. _I'm_ considering taking some sleeping pills myself. After all I've seen today, I kind of want to be knocked out. The dreams have the potential to be horrific…but I want to be cognizant enough to be of use, should he need me during the night," Hakuba sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You should rest, Hakuba." Conan frowned, picking up the popcorn, nut, and chocolate pieces that Kaito had gotten on the floor. "You've been up since before dawn and have had one hell of a day. You sleep. I'll deal with Kaito."

"It's not like today's been a stroll along the boardwalk for you either, Kudo. You've been working hard as well. You too should rest. Tomorrow is not going to be easy by any means, if we're both exhausted."

"Which is why I'm going to be taking a sleeping pill, so we can all get some sleep," Kaito conceded, coming back into the bedroom. "Give me."

"In the nightstand drawer. To the left, Kai," Saguru directed.

The three teens settled in, and Kaito took twice the recommended dosage of sleeping pills.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. I've got a bit of a tolerance built up from work. I could probably take another pill or two and still be fine."

…

It was one twenty-two and forty-five point two seconds, and Kuroba Kaito was dead to the world. Hakuba Saguru, on the other hand, was decidedly not.

While the dreams weren't bad for having helped piece together bodies earlier that day, they were honestly quite weird and not making for restful slumber.

"Can't sleep either?" Conan whispered.

"Unfortunately, no," Saguru sighed, looking down at the unconscious magician curled around his body. "At least Kaito's asleep."

"It'll be easier on all of us, if Kaito's well-rested," Conan added. "We don't want him getting rundown."

"Yes, he'll be more likely to do something stupid, if he's tired." Saguru rolled his eyes. "What are we going to do with him? His conscience won't be able to take it as more information comes to light."

The blonde looked to his co-boyfriend, hoping the other teen had the answers Saguru was lacking.

"Hakuba, I honestly don't know if it'd be better to be straight with him and share everything so that he doesn't have to go behind our backs, or if we should keep him in the dark in the name of protecting him…. What do you want to do?"

"Honestly, Kudo, I have no bloody idea. I don't know how all the information about the victims will affect him mentally or emotionally, especially since he believes that their deaths are his fault. On the other hand, he'd be a great help to us, I think."

"He does have a keen eye for detail that'd make him a promising investigator." Conan ran a hand through his beloved's hair. "Maybe we should just ask him, Hakuba. He's mature enough to make his own decisions…at least he should be…. Well…maybe we'll ask him, see how it goes, and make our own decision based on that."

"Sounds good to me," Saguru replied, stifling a yawn. "Why are you still awake, if I might ask?"

"Going over the case." Conan gave a small shrug, his neutral expression shifting into a full-blown smirk. "And watching Cinderella sleep."

"Hmm." Hakuba smiled knowingly. "Any breakthroughs, Meitantei?"

"Kaito snores, and it's adorable. Haha…. Not really anything about the case, Hakuba. I was just thinking that if we could pinpoint where the victims were killed and where they'd been before that, it'd really shed some light on the case. I was thinking we could analyze particles on clothes and under fingernails and the like, but it's probably going to be kind of tough what with the bodies being…"

"Mincemeat," Saguru concluded delicately.

"Yeah…mincemeat," Conan sighed.

"Though, the Special Interests Unit did do a rather impressive job of reconstructing the victims…but we can worry about all that in the morning. For now, we should be trying to get some rest. In addition to Kaito, we need to worry about ourselves getting rundown as well."

"Yeah," Conan yawned. "Besides, we'll hopefully have more to go on in the morning. Night, Hakuba."

"Night, Kudo."

…

It was nine in the morning, and the three teens were just sitting down to breakfast when an insistent pounding came at the door.

"Just eat boys," Baaya commanded. "I'll get it." The caretaker got up to get the door with a puzzled expression on her face. They never had guests besides the company already present, and they weren't expecting anyone today.

A blonde woman with poison-dart-frog-green eyes was standing on the porch, a redheaded gentleman beside her. She flashed a badge when Baaya opened the door and didn't wait for Baaya to question her before starting to speak. "It's about the case."

"The Superintendent is currently at headquarters," Baaya informed like a good secretary. "I could take a message or provide you with his mobile number, if you'd like."

"I'm not here for _him_. I'm here for Goldilocks."

"In the kitchen, Kiku-chan!" Kaito called out between bites of omrice.

"'Cuse her," Kei sighed as Chrisy pushed past Baaya, letting herself in.

Chrisy found her way to the kitchen and set a large manila file down on the island where the three boys were eating. "Kiddo…Goldilocks…Shrimp…I've come to update you guys."

"Any new developments?" Saguru asked over Conan's protestations at his nickname.

The spy shrugged, setting down a flashdrive next to the file.

"We've got names 'n everything for all th' victims, but…" Kei-san's impassive face showed slight concern. Saguru would have sworn that the older man was doing his version of furrowing his brow and knitting his eyebrows together.

"…we've got nothing," Kiku-chan finished for her partner. "We know where most of them were before they were taken and killed, but these people were just snatched off the street without rhyme or reason, guys. There're no connections. We think they just took random people of a variety of ages. We're not going to learn anything from investigating the victims."

"Th' police er lookin' for th' place they were killed, though," Kei added.

"I'm thinking meat processing plant," Chrisy threw in her two cents. "Everyone's on this thing, but I don't know if we're going to make any progress. These guys were able to fill an entire plaza with corpse pieces without anyone noticing. We're not gonna find them."

"We might not find them because of these murders, but when we do finally nail them, these murders are a concrete charge that will stick, even if they walk on everything else," Kaito declared, not losing hope. "Besides, Guru and Shin-chan haven't looked into it yet. If anyone could find a connection between the victims and get a lead as to where these sickos are, it's my detectives."

Saguru and Shinichi both blushed at the high praise coming from their beloved. Secretly they were proud that he had such faith in them.

Slowly the frown on Chrisy's face softened into a faint smile. She nodded. "Kei and I will leave it up to you, then. We've got work to do, but you three call me when you figure it all out."

Hakuba noted that the icy woman had said "when", not "if". It was good to know that she had faith in them as well.

"Sure thing, Kiku-chan." Kaito smiled and waved as his accomplice and her maybe-boyfriend left.

Conan reached out to open and take a peek at the file, only to have his hand shooed away by Baaya.

"Finish your breakfast first," she scolded. "How are you supposed to save the world, if you haven't had a proper breakfast?"

Kaito just laughed at his mate's expense.

It was good to see him in such a good mood. Shinichi and Saguru had both been worried about the state these events would leave Kaito in.

…

"Yamada Haruya, two years old; Yamada Reika, twenty-eight years old; Sasaki Natsuki, sixteen years old; Hirai Chiaki, twenty-four years old; Nishioka Nadeshiko, thirty-six years old; Miyahara Kaede, forty-one years old; Yoshikawa Fuyuki, fifty-three years old; Hagiwara Fujie, sixty years old; Souma Shuugo, sixty-four years old; Moriyama Sayuri, thirty-three years old; Umeda Akinari, forty-five years old; Otani Kaichirou, seventy-two years old; Wakabayashi Touma, fifty-seven years old; and Ikeda Haruhide, sixty-eight years old," Hakuba read the list off slowly, like a funeral dirge.

Conan nodded solemnly. "The only thing we can do for them now is bring those monsters to justice…. We just have to find them first."

"How the hell do we do that?" Kaito sighed, rolling over onto his back on the study's couch. Halfway through the afternoon of working on the case, he was already beginning to wear down.

"If we knew where their hideout was…" Saguru sighed, switching to the map indicating from whence each of the victims had been snatched. "…You know, all of these people were taken from places not too terribly far from each other. I wonder…"

"…If the hideout isn't too far from those places either?" Conan finished, coming over to look at the map. "You might be on to something. Let's make a list of all the big buildings within the area. They'd need a big building to act as a front for an evil crime syndicate."

"Well, while you guys figure that out, I'm gonna go veg-out in front of the TV in your room, Guru, since I'm pretty much useless here," Kaito sighed, rolling off of the couch and heading for the room next door.

A few minutes later, Hakuba's phone buzzed as he received a text.

"It's from Miss Monroe." He frowned. "Oh no. She says, 'There's been another incident. Keep the TVs OFF.'"

"Kaito," Conan hissed, dashing into the next room where they found their beloved staring blankly at the TV screen as a newscast covered the six new bodies that had turned up in broad daylight, hanging from the sign outside of Ekoda Station.

"And that's enough of that," Saguru growled, turning the television off with a vengeance.

"Kaito?" Conan called softly, tugging on his mate's pant leg.

"I'm fine," the magician mumbled, sinking down onto the couch.

"No, you're not. Don't lie, Kai-chan," the smaller sleuth sighed, climbing up onto Kaito's lap and assuming Teddy bear position.

"They said another 'Come out and play' note was left." Kaito closed his eyes, burying his face in Conan's hair. "Guys, I've got to do something."

"No," Saguru intoned firmly, taking his place next to Kaito and wrapping his arms around his darling. "Shh. No, Kai. No."

"Saguru, they've killed twenty people in the past two days. They're not gonna stop until I do what they want. I _have_ to—"

"—Shut the hell up and do as I say, Dove," Hakuba snarled, taking Kaito by the jaw and forcing him to face him. "Look at me. I realize that I'm being an overbearing jerk at the moment, but I honestly don't care. You will not be leaving this house. I don't care if I have to chain you to the bed like a dog. I don't care if you hate me. I am far more interested in keeping you alive and well than keeping your affections. Do we understand each other, Kaito?"

"Hakuba," Conan sighed in disapproval. "Now who's being paranoid and distrusting?"

"I don't care," the blonde snapped. "Do you understand, Kaito?"

"Yes," Kaito weakly responded, looking at his taller boyfriend with pleading eyes. He looked small and helpless as tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. "Don't yell at me, okay, Guru?"

"Oh, Dove," Saguru gasped, encircling Kaito in a bone-crushing hug. "I love you, and I'm scared. I'm just so terribly scared that you're going to get killed and leave me. I'm eighteen; what the hell do I know of fighting evil crime syndicates? I just want to keep you safe."

"Okay, drama queens. Get it together," Conan commanded, trying to take charge of the situation. "We've got to keep it together and use our heads, or else we're not going to make it through this with our sanity and our lives. Are you with me so far?"

"Y-Yes, Kudo," Hakuba replied sheepishly, embarrassed that he was coming apart so easily.

"Un," Kaito grunted half-heartedly.

"No one does anything without consulting the other two, okay?" Conan laid out the rules for the other teens. "That should keep any one of us from doing something stupid and rash."

Both Kaito and Saguru nodded in agreement.

"We're gonna keep connecting the dots and find their hideout. We're gonna work closely with the police. We're not going to do anything on our own. I've come to realize that these guys are beyond anything I can handle by myself. If we try to fly solo on this thing, we're gonna crash and burn—probably literally. Still following me?"

"Yes," Saguru responded with more strength this time.

"Yeah," Kaito mumbled, still down in the dumps and conflicted.

"Kai-chan?" Conan wasn't so sure that Kaito was actually listening.

"Yes, Shinichi."

"Good," the shrunken sleuth breathed. "Look, true, yes, we do have six more bodies on our hands, but when we find out where these people were taken from, we'll have six more points on our map, and we'll be able to narrow down their headquarters' location even further. Their deaths won't be in vain. Now, let's get to work."

"I'm so glad at least one of us still has his head on his shoulders," Saguru sighed, giving Kaito one last squeeze before getting to his feet. "You going to be okay, Dove?"

Kaito shook his head. "I'm feeling kind of sick. I'm gonna take another sleeping pill and catch some zs. That way you guys can concentrate on working without having to worry about me running off and getting myself killed."

Saguru frowned. "I…I honestly don't know what would be better: you dealing with reality and facing it head on or you drugging yourself to escape for a while. I don't like the idea of you knocking yourself out like that. I'm just thinking it could be unhealthy."

"Duly noted," Kaito muttered, heading for the nightstand where the pills were kept.

"Just this once," Saguru conceded. "I don't want you making a habit of this."

Kaito shrugged off Hakuba's concern, grabbing the pill bottle and climbing under the covers.

Saguru looked down at Conan.

"Just this once, Kaito," the smaller detective agreed. "Hakuba, why don't you call Kiku-chan and see if you can get us all the info she's got on the new victims. I have to go make a phone call myself."

With a nod, Saguru returned to the study to retrieve his phone.

…

Mikau: Just a note: abusing sleeping pills is bad. Don't be like Kaito. So, how was it? I'm still trying to manage the delicate balance between keeping the tension up and being overdramatic. How do you think I'm doing? In some places, I'm letting the characters go on the overdramatic side because I think it would be in character in that instance. Poor Hakuba is a little out of whack because he's running a serious sleep deficit. Kaito's like an emotional yoyo anyway, so I think it's okay to let him get depressed and guilty and anxious for a little while before he bounces back and takes things into his own hands again. As for Shinichi, we've all seen how intense he gets when Ran's in trouble, so I'm kind of transferring that onto Kaito. There are places where I think "Nah, that's a bit too much", but overall, I think it's pretty okay. Actually, the only thing I'm not really liking lately is how public the organization is being. It's totally out of character! However, I suppose they're desperate with the comet deadline coming. I don't know. What do you think? Please drop me a line, if you have a minute. I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks for reading, guys!


	66. One Last Hurrah

Mikau: Hi everybody! So good to see you! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter: Guest, patternleap, Bunnyz-chan, MeitanteiRose, and GeekyGenius. I really appreciate you all taking the time, and it's so encouraging to receive such reader support. It really motivates me to sit down and write even on the days when I'm just not feeling it. And that's been pretty often lately. I've gotten so busy, and now I'm sick. At least I've had a couple days off work to recover. I fear it's put my head in a bit of a fog, though, so kindly overlook any glaring typographical errors. The good news is that being sick has given me a lot of free time, so you can expected the second chapter of The Healing Process up sometime in the next few days. I still have to finish editing. Anyway, in the meantime, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd probably have it go on forever and ever and ever too.

…

One Last Hurrah

About half an hour later, a yellow beetle pulled up the drive to the Hakuba Manor, and Baaya let in a small girl with strawberry blonde hair and the plump older gentleman that was accompanying her.

"Conan-kun! There's someone here to see you!" Baaya called up the stairs, feeling a little bit too much in the dark. Certainly Saguru didn't tell her the ins and outs of the cases he worked on, but he normally had the courtesy to inform her when guests and clients would be dropping by and generally what all she might expect. This whole case was a little unprecedented.

The blonde detective threw his co-boyfriend a curious glance.

"Can I borrow a spare guestroom?" Conan didn't bother answering Saguru's implied question.

"Of course." Saguru got to his feet and showed Conan and the girl—Haibara-chan, if he remembered correctly—and the elderly man down the hall to a room that had, to his knowledge, never been used.

"Sorry for the intrusion." The man in the lab coat bowed sheepishly to Saguru before following the two seemingly children into one of the many unused rooms of the Hakuba Manor.

Being the cordial host he was, Saguru went downstairs to fetch tea before Baaya could bring it up and interrupt whatever important matter was going on.

He was about to knock on the door to the guestroom when he accidently overheard the young girl say something that made his heart constrict.

"Kudo-kun, if you take the long-lasting antidote, this will be the last time. The tests I've done suggest that you'll be completely immune, unable to return to your original body ever again. I'm serious. It won't be the way it's been up until now. This will be permanent."

"Kaito needs me now," Conan stated with certainty.

"Kudo." Saguru pushed open the door and cut in without warning. "Kudo, you can't."

Conan's brow furrowed, dejection setting in on his face. "What other choice do I have? If this will give me a couple days with him as _me_, I've got to do it. I have to be there for him, Hakuba. You'd do the same thing."

Saguru shook his head. "What if something worse happens? What if he needs you then and you can't change back? Kudo…"

"What could be worse than this?" Conan scoffed, grabbing the pill out of Haibara's hand and downing it before he could start second-guessing. "He's not going to make it through this ordeal at this rate. If we survive long enough to fall on hard times again, we'll deal with it then. For now, I'm just concerned with getting Kaito through one day at a—ah!"

Before Conan could even finish the sentence he was on his knees, gripping his shirt in pain.

"Kudo!" Saguru cried, scooping the smaller teen up and setting him down on the bed as the little detective writhed in pain. "Kudo, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here."

"He'll be fine in a few minutes," Haibara assured as the Professor looked on in absolute worry.

All Saguru could do was watch in horror and hold the child's hand as Conan convulsed in pain, biting down on one of the sheets so as to avoid biting through his tongue and to deafen the sounds of his grunts and screams.

"God, is this what Kaito saw? It's horrible," Saguru whispered, gently wiping the sweat from Conan's brow.

Haibara nodded, completely unfazed by the sight in front of her. "It's not normally so bad. I haven't yet found the reason why it's gotten worse these past few times. It should be over soon."

Saguru nodded, refusing to release his grip on Conan's hand.

Slowly but surely Conan began to grow and stretch, and, before long, a sweaty, breathless, exhausted Kudo Shinichi was lying on the bed in place of the little Edogawa Conan that had been there just minutes before.

Hakuba swallowed hard, letting go of the other detective's hand as he stared in amazement at the full-sized Heisei Holmes.

Gradually Shinichi's eyes began to open, and the scantily clad detective sat up, his clothing falling in tatters around him.

"I'll…go get you some suitable clothing," Saguru stammered, at a loss as to what to do.

"They brought some with them," Shinichi explained, holding his hand out for the duffle the Professor had been carrying. "Thanks, though, Hakuba."

"N-Not a problem." Saguru was having a problem not staring at the nude glory of Kudo Shinichi. It was making him highly uncomfortable. "I'll just…go back to work, shall I?"

"Hold up. I'll come with," Shinichi replied as he stretched and slipped into some of the clothes he'd been provided with. "Thanks, Hakase…Haibara."

The small scientist snorted delicately. "Don't come crying to me when you can't turn back anymore. I did warn you."

"Yeah. Thanks for all of your hard work these past two years, Haibara." Shinichi sent her a genuine grin. "I mean it."

She pretended to be unaffected by his charm. "So do I. You can still call me when things start going wrong, though," she conceded before turning to the Professor. "Come on, Hakase. Let's go home and leave the idiot to his idiocy."

"Be careful, Shinichi," Professor Agasa warned, casting his friend a concerned glance before obediently following Haibara.

"Thanks," the detective repeated, shrugging on his shirt before turning to Hakuba. "Back to work?"

"R-Right." Saguru nodded, leading the way back to the study, not even thinking to lead the other guests out. What he'd just witnessed had sort of scrambled his mind.

…

"So…hospitals, shopping malls, hotels, factories, large office buildings…is there anything else we should include?" Hakuba looked over his shoulder at the other detective, still not used to seeing Shinichi standing there instead of Conan.

"I'm sure I'll think of something later," Shinichi sighed, flipping through the notes once more. "Should we call Kiku-chan and share information? Her people seem far more capable of infiltrating and preforming a sting operation than us. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get in on the action and bring those demons down, but…I've been thinking lately that my life isn't just my own anymore. I've got Kaito to worry about…and you, Hakuba. I can't just run in there and get myself killed, leaving you two behind. I've got to be less reckless, as hard as that's going to be."

"I wish Kaito thought the same way," Saguru chuckled softly. "I'll call Miss Monroe and see if she and Kei-san can come over after dinner. It should be ready within the next hour or so. Kaito should be waking up around then…. Unless he's woken up and taken more pills."

A wave of ice cold fear surged through Saguru's body.

"Don't worry. I stole the bottle of pills and put them in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom," Shinichi reassured the blonde. "You know, I was thinking of taking Kaito back to my house for the night. I know you think sex right now might not be what he really needs, but…I think that anything we can do to take his mind off of things for the moment would be good."

After a minute of silence, Saguru finally nodded. "No need to go all the way back to your house. You two may use one of the guestrooms, if you find it satisfactory."

"T-Thank you, Hakuba."

"I don't…I don't know what to do, Kudo," Saguru confessed. "I don't know what's best for him, and I'm not…I'm not strong enough to protect him, no matter how hard I wish to be. You're different, though, Kudo."

"We're no different, Hakuba," Shinichi replied, coming over and resting a hand gently on Saguru's shoulder. "Hang in there."

"Thank you, Kudo." A small smile gradually started to form on the blonde's face along with a rosy blush.

"Let's go wake Kaito up and head down for dinner?" Shinichi suggested.

With a nod of acknowledgement, Hakuba got to his feet and followed the other detective's lead.

…

"Shin-chan?" Kaito muttered groggily as he came out of the drug-induced haze.

"It's me, alright," Shinichi chuckled, leaning in to steal a kiss.

"H-How?" Kaito giggled as his boyfriend playfully nuzzled his neck.

"Magic," Shinichi teased, nipping Kaito once or twice for good measure. "I…I took one of the long-lasting antidotes…one last time."

"What?" Kaito's brow furrowed as he sat up, looking at Shinichi in confusion.

"Once this one wears off, he'll be stuck as Edogawa Conan, right?" Saguru cut to the chase so that the other detective wouldn't beat around the bush.

"Right," Shinichi admitted, voice dripping guilt.

"…How long does it last?" Kaito finally asked.

"Maybe four or so days." Shinichi shrugged, eyes begging for Kaito to forgive him.

"Okay," Kaito mumbled sadly. "Okay. It's done. No use throwing a fit now, right? I'm supremely pissed about this, Shinichi, but…I mean, no sense wasting what little time we have left together fighting. Can we go back to your house tonight?"

"Actually, Hakuba has offered to let us use the guestroom," Shinichi informed, giving Kaito a hand up out of bed. "Dinner first, though, and after that Kiku-chan's coming to debrief us on what all she's learned today. We'll do the info exchange, and then you and I will retire to the guestroom for the night."

With a half-hearted nod, Kaito got to his feet and filed down the stairs after his detectives, and then, with a little prodding and coercing, the magician managed to finish a little more than half of his meal.

"You're not looking so good," Chrisy noted with a frown as soon as she walked in the door. "Kiddo, are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah." Kaito dredged up enough strength to sound at least halfway convincing. "I'm not an infant, and I'm not a damsel in distress. I can get through this, Kiku-chan, so you don't have to worry about me. Shin-chan and Guru are here for me, but…thanks."

"…Okay," she replied after a very long pause. She then turned to the detective duo as Baaya began to clear the plates. "All the info I've got is in this folder." She slide the manila file across the table to Saguru.

Shinichi picked it up and began to flip through it, skipping all of the biographical information and going straight to the section where it listed the victims' last known whereabouts. He smirked. "Hakuba, if this info is correct, it fits nicely within our parameters."

"Did you guys figure something out while I was in dreamland?" Kaito raised an eyebrow at his boyfriends.

"Do share," Chrisy urged.

"We're trying to locate the headquarters of the so-called 'Black Syndicate'," Saguru explained. "We figure that these monsters are just grabbing people off the streets, but we also assume they're not going too terribly far out of their way to do so. We're looking into large buildings like hotels, office buildings, and hospitals within the area where the victims disappeared as possible sites for their hideout."

"That's actually pretty good," Chrisy sniffed, moderately impressed.

"What did I tell you about my detectives?" Kaito boasted.

"Give me the list. My people will start investigating," Chrisy proposed.

"Kiku-chan?" Kaito spoke tentatively. "What are we going to do to protect people in the meantime until we find these guys? They want Kid, and they're going to keep killing innocent people until they get what they want. I know it'll be dangerous, but…don't you think I should do something? You know…schedule a heist?"

"No," Chrisy responded authoritatively. "That's stupid. They'll shoot you on sight, and what good does that do any of us?"

"Arg," Kaito grumbled in frustration, running both hands through his hair. "But what the hell am I supposed to do? Just stay inside and sit on my hands while the body count goes up by the hour?"

"Yep. Sounds like a plan to me." Chrisy rolled her eyes, cursing her fondness for Kuroba Touichi's child.

"Well, count me out," Kaito snorted. "I know you guys keep saying that it's just a suicide mission, but I can't help but think that me going out there will make a difference somehow. Sure, I might take a hit or two, but their aim isn't _that_ good, and it's nothing I haven't lived through before. I can do this. I can buy us some time to find them and stop them," Kaito argued passionately, begging them to understand that he had to do this. "I can't live with all that blood on my hands. I can't stay in here where it's safe while people are getting slaughtered because of me."

Chrisy took a slow, deliberate sip of her tea before setting it down and looking the magician in the eye. "Okay. You can do your heist on one condition."

"Yeah?" Kaito squirmed in his seat.

"Look at them." Chrisy nodded to Hakuba and Shinichi. "Look at them, Kaito, and tell them that you don't really love them. Tell them you don't care about them. Tell them that you care more about easing your own guilty conscience than spending the rest of your life with them."

"That's not true!" Kaito snapped, raising to his feet to lean over the table and glower down at his accomplice. "Chrisy, have a little faith in me. I can do this."

"You're being a moron, Kiddo," Chrisy sighed, standing and stretching. "If you go out there, they'll kill you. Period. This isn't going to be like your other heists. They're calling you out, and if you show your face, there will be a firing squad waiting for you. It won't be a simple heist; it'll be an execution. Do you get that? Those two do. That's why your boyfriends are so against you even stepping out of their sight. They know that this is ludicrous, and, deep down, you do too, don't you? Kiddo, don't you even understand how they feel right now?"

Kaito glanced at the two detectives.

Saguru was staring dejectedly down into his own cup of tea, holding the cup with both hands, as if to steady it. Perhaps he was trying to steady himself.

Shinichi, however, was staring right at him, a sad, conflicted look on his face. Kaito knew that Shinichi understood where he was coming from. How many times had Shinichi himself thrown all concern for his own safety to the wind and ran full speed into danger in order to save others? Kaito knew that Shinichi got it, but still the detective looked like he wanted nothing more than to pull Kaito in close and never let go.

Kaito looked away, shaking his head. "Call me cocky, stupid, a starry-eyed optimist, or what have you, but I believe I can go out there and come back alive. I'm sorry. I'm gonna schedule a heist."

With a sigh the spy scratched the back of her neck. "Okay. Cool. Goldilocks? Can you come here for a sec?"

Saguru gave a start, as if he had been far off in thought until she had brought him back into the conversation. "Yes. Of course." He obediently got to his feet and went to Kiku-chan's side.

Before anyone was the wiser, Chrisy had Saguru in a choke hold with a small pistol to his neck at the base of his skull, ready to take out a major artery along with a good deal of his brain.

"What would you do if I killed him?" Chrisy inquired levelly, holding the Brit tight and applying just enough pressure to keep him from wriggling.

"Let him go!" Kaito barked, ready to lunge at her. "You let him go right now. I'm warning you!"

"Oh, he'd be dead before you could take two steps. Stand down, Kiddo, and answer my question. What would you do if I killed him?"

"I'd rip your freaking face off," Kaito seethed, fists curling into balls so tight that his nails threatened to draw blood.

Chrisy rolled her neon green eyes. "No you wouldn't. You could try, but I'm faster, stronger, and infinitely more deadly than you. I kill people for a living. You're no match for a trained killer. Now what would you do if he got killed? You'd mope around for months, right? Blame yourself? Torture yourself? You'd go mad with grief. You'd try to get revenge, but, Kiddo, you're just one puny little teenager. What could you really hope to accomplish against people like me?"

"Kiku-chan, please don't hurt him," Kaito resorted to begging, tears welling in the corners of his eyes as Saguru struggled futilely in Chrisy's grasp. "Please."

Chrisy muttered something in English to the other blonde, and slowly Saguru stopped fighting.

"Let's change the subject…focus on what you're feeling now, shall we?" Chrisy continued. "You're upset, obviously. Feeling a little hopeless? Helpless? You love this guy, right? But you're powerless to protect him. It hurts, doesn't it? Are you scared, Kaito? Scared of losing him? Am I right?"

Suddenly she released her hold on Hakuba, returning the gun to the small of her back. "Thanks for the help there, Goldilocks. I think I've made my point."

"My pleasure," Saguru coughed, rubbing his throat as he enjoyed several full breaths of air.

"Guru!" Kaito jumped the table and sprinted to his mate's side.

"'M fine," Saguru assured, wrapping an arm around Kaito's waist.

"Why you!" Kaito snarled, intending to jump at Kiku-chan, but Saguru's arm held him back.

"Settle down," the blonde detective urged.

"Sorry for the jarring demonstration, Kiddo, but you just weren't getting it," Chrisy sighed, going back to her place at the table. "Remember how you felt when I had him at gunpoint? You better bet that they feel the same way, only it's _you_ that the baddies have in their clutches. Every time you put on that tuxedo and play tag with those trench-coats, you worry these two to death. Am I right?"

"She nailed it, Kai-chan," Shinichi finally spoke up. "Believe me, I understand what you're feeling. If I thought people were getting hurt because of me, I'd be out there putting my life at risk too…. Well, at least up until recently. Like I was telling Hakuba earlier, I kind of had this epiphany. You love me even more than I love me, and it'd kill you if I got myself killed, so I have to start taking better care of myself for your sake. I love you enough to die for you, Kaito, but I also love you enough to live for you. I think that's what Kiku-chan's trying to get at."

Kaito sighed, sinking down into Saguru's embrace. "I'm being a selfish, immature brat again, aren't I?"

"No, Dove," Saguru reassured.

"Yes!" Chrisy exclaimed at the same time. "Thank you! He finally gets it. Kiddo, you have to grow up and start thinking of these two first. You've got to be able to see the bigger picture. Being in a relationship means being responsible for someone else…being accountable to them. It's going to be a tough lesson for you, but you've got to learn how to live for someone else."

Kaito finally nodded, reluctantly surrendering. "Sorry guys. You knew I was a hotheaded, self-centered kid when you signed up to be my boyfriends, but…sorry."

"I like that about you most of the time," Saguru admitted, whispering into Kaito's hair. "It's just that…right now…it's a little inconvenient."

"Annoying. He means annoying, Kai-chan," Shinichi threw in his two cents. "We still love you to pieces, though."

Kaito lifted his head to smile weakly at the brunette detective. He then turned back to Chrisy, and his smile waned. "But…seriously…what are we going to do to protect people until we can find the hideout?"

"I'll be going out as Kid." Chrisy shrugged.

"Hey, that's _my_ suicide mission!" Kaito snorted, hands going to his hips as his bottom lip stuck out in a pout. "If I can't go, you can't either."

"I'm on a whole other level, Kiddo," Chrisy chuckled, shrugging him off. "I'll be careful…take extra precautions."

"And what does Kei-san think of you volunteering for this?" Saguru's eyebrows knit together.

Chrisy scoffed. "He's livid, but he'll get over it."

"…It's not my place to ask, but…aren't you willing to live for him?" Shinichi asked tentatively, not wanting to step on any feet.

Chrisy shrugged apathetically. "The only man I've ever been willing to live for got himself killed over a damn rock a long time ago…but Kei will make sure I come out of this alive. Don't worry, Kiddo. I want you to stay with your detectives and keep morale up. Take care of them. Make sure they eat and sleep and take breaks when they're tired. The best way that you can help is to look after them."

Kaito nodded, accepting his task gracefully. "You stay safe, Kiku-chan. Dad would have wanted you to move on and find happiness. I doubt he ever intended for either of us to stay stuck on him."

Chrisy's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and a ghost of a smile stretched out on her lips. "You…might be on to something. Maybe I really don't have to spend the rest of my life trying to please a dead man. Heck, maybe I haven't even been doing an adequate job up until now."

"I believe he would be happy if you moved on and gave Kei-san a chance. If he cared for you, he'd want to see you happy," Saguru commented a little forwardly, secretly rooting for Kei-san.

Chrisy rolled her eyes half-heartedly. "Shush, Goldilocks. Enough from you."

"I've said my peace." The other blonde shrugged as if it couldn't be helped.

"Keep us updated, okay?" Kaito practically begged, taking the girl by both hands and looking her in the eye. "And, seriously, be careful."

"Aye aye," Chrisy replied softly, giving Kaito's hands a soft squeeze before slipping away, getting ready to go.

…

Mikau: Shin-chan's back! I so enjoy having him to play with. I really work with Conan more than Shinichi, so it's a nice change of pace. I've been trying in my other works to involve Shinichi more recently. I think people prefer true KaiShin to KaiCo. Thanks for reading guys! Let me know what you thought, and hopefully I'll see you again soon!


	67. Escapism and Ecstasy

Mikau: Hi everyone! I'm feeling a little better this week, thank you very much. So, just a warning, this chapter is…well, a little on the spicy side. Shinichi and Kaito only have so many days left together before he turns back into Conan forever, so what did you expect? There's HakuKai too, though not what you may expect. Thanks so much to my reviewers from last chapter: Bunnyz-chan, Guest, patternleap, and MeitanteiRose!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, every once in a while it actually would be lupus. Oh wait. Wrong show.

…

Escapism and Ecstasy

"Go to bed, Guru," Kaito urged, giving his boyfriend a playful shove. "You're burning yourself out on this case. When was the last time you got a full eight hours of sleep?"

"It's probably been since before the two of us started sleeping together," Saguru chuckled. "You've been keeping me up all night ever since. No, but seriously, Dove, I want to keep working. It's only nine twenty. I'll go to bed in an hour or two. I left an extra set of sheets out in the guestroom, so you and Kudo…just…spend some time together, okay? Make the time you have count. Night, Kai."

"Night," Kaito mumbled as Saguru tussled his hair gently.

"Ready?" Shinichi peeked his head out of the doorway to the guestroom.

Kaito nodded and followed him in. Once the door was shut, he rounded on Shinichi and pushed his lover hard against the wall. "Remember how I said I was supremely pissed at you?"

"Y-Yeah?" Shinichi stuttered. In all honesty, Kaito was kind of sexy when he was pissed.

"Well, I hope you like it rough, 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm about to take all of the pent up aggression that I've been keeping under wraps the past couple hours out on you now." With another shove against the wall, Kaito crushed his lips to Shinichi's, forcing his way into the detective's mouth with his tongue.

Meanwhile, Shinichi was quickly discovering that he kind of liked being dominated.

As their lips and tongues and teeth warred with each other, Kaito's hips pushed forward, his thigh pressing between Shinichi's legs. It was infuriating being trapped between Kaito's body and the wall, unable to do more than weakly thrust back as Kaito's hips rocked against his. He wanted more friction, more heat, but Kaito was in control, setting the tempo painfully slow.

Shinichi wondered if he were being punished until Kaito unexpectedly broke away.

"Bed," he demanded, grabbing Shinichi by the arm and pulling him across the room, practically flinging the off-balance detective down on the sheets.

Shinichi had only a split second to react before Kaito was on top of him, their lips reconnecting and sucking greedily at each other's as Kaito began ripping off the detective's clothes, nearly breaking the skin as he clawed off Shinichi's shirt.

Shinichi had a feeling that he'd be finding angry little red scratch marks on his arms and chest in the morning. That is, if Kaito didn't replace them with hickeys first. The magician was working fast now, moving down Shinichi's neck like a vampire with his lips and teeth, sucking and biting.

Somewhere between Shinichi's gasps and moans, Kaito had rid them both of their shirts, and now it looked like the detective's pants would be meeting a similar fate. Kaito wasn't wasting any time now. Foreplay—whatever little there had been—was over.

"Take a deep breath," Kaito warned only seconds before he had Shinichi seeing stars, gasping for breath as Kaito came at him mercilessly.

After that he was lost in wave after wave of pleasure mixed with a twinge of pain. Then the pleasant haze began to fade, and he realized that Kaito was curled up beside him, head resting on his shoulder.

"I should make you mad more often. You're like a tsunami in bed when you're angry," Shinichi mumbled.

"You shouldn't have gone behind my back and done something irreversible without talking with me first," Kaito grumbled, nibbling on Shinichi's collarbone.

"You would have said no, and frankly, Kaito, I don't care. I want to be me right now. This whole situation is hell on all of us, and I don't think you understand how hard it is for me to be trapped in that tiny body at the moment. I can't protect you as Conan. Heck, I can hardly do anything as Shinichi either, but at least in my real body I can hold you. We're all feeling helpless and useless right now, Kai-chan. It's not just you. We're all feeling a little raw and vulnerable. Changing back one last time is my way of coping with it."

Kaito nodded, giving up on his Kaitou Kid caricature hickey project and deciding just to snuggle into the crook of Shinichi's neck, stealing the sleuth's body heat. "…I'm still upset."

"I know." Shinichi shrugged, wrapping his arms around Kaito and beginning to stroke the younger teen's back. "But we'll figure it out. Only a few years left until I hit puberty again, and until then we can…I don't know…play around with toys and stuff to keep our love life interesting. I'll do some internet research. We'll get creative."

Kaito just giggled. "Shin-chan, that's not even what I'm most worried about. I…I'm gonna miss…you know…you. Don't get me wrong, I love Conan madly, but…I'm gonna miss Shinichi. Tantei-kun's adorable, but…God, your face. Shinichi's such a dreamboat. I can't wait ten years for you to be a stud again."

At this Shinichi laughed until his sides hurt. "My face. You're going to miss my face? More than my dick?"

"More than your dick," Kaito echoed with a decisive nod. "I mean, it's nice, but I'm not all that hung up on size. Guru has us both beat anyway."

"Yeah?" Shinichi chuckled, giving Kaito's bum a squeeze.

"Yeah. There's a reason he's got the kanji for 'horse' in his name." Kaito groped back. "I'm surprised he can walk with that thing."

"Geez. That's impressive," Shinichi whispered as he ran his tongue along the outer shell of Kaito's ear. "Maybe I'll get a chance to see it someday."

"I'm more interested in yours right now," Kaito returned huskily, slowly dragging his toes up Shinichi's calf and thigh.

"Oh yeah?" Shinichi smirked, eyes filling with lust.

"Oh yeah," Kaito purred. "Shin-chan, I'm not having a very good week. Why don't you make me forget all about it? While you're at it, why don't you screw me until I turn into a happy little pile of goo beneath you and forget my own name? Please?"

Shinichi pretended to think about it while all the blood in his body rushed down south, reveling what was really on his mind. "Okay. I guess I could, but only because you asked so nicely…and I like it when you talk dirty."

…

Kaito was…vocal as always, so in order to get some work accomplished, Saguru had put in earplugs. Thus, he didn't notice he was being snuck up upon until two hands covered his eyes, begging the question, "Guess who!"

He rolled his eyes and removed the earplugs, chuckling. "Who else could it be but my adorable little boyfriend?"

The hands retreated, and Saguru turned to smile at his messy-haired sweetheart. "And what are you doing here, Dove? Shouldn't you be snuggling with Kudo at the moment? I thought that's what you always wanted."

Kaito smiled sweetly, wrapping his arms around the detective's neck as he took a seat on Saguru's lap, straddling the bigger teen. "I want to be with you."

"Kai-chan," Saguru breathed as he recognized No1. "Are you okay, Dove? Did they hurt you?"

Kaito giggled, shaking his head. "It's fine. I'm fine, Saguru. It doesn't matter what they do to my body; my heart's still yours and yours alone."

"You say the cutest things," Saguru chuckled, running a hand through Kaito's wild locks, still damp from the shower. He leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on Kaito's lips. "You're right. I'll love you no matter what, Kai-chan."

"Really?" Kaito was positively tingling in joy. "Say it again."

"I love you," Saguru whispered, cupping his little darling's cheek and ghosting his thumb over Kaito's lips, already looking a little raw and swollen from 2.0 and Kid's time with Kudo.

"Again," Kaito giggled, leaning in and resting his forehead against Saguru's.

"I love you, Kuroba Kaito." Saguru rubbed his nose to Kaito's in an Eskimo kiss.

"I love you too, Hakuba Saguru." Kaito pressed his lips gently to Saguru's. "…So…I've been thinking…"

"Yes?" Saguru pulled back a few inches so that he could look the other boy in the eye.

Kaito's cheeks were rosy, only adding to his adorableness.

"I…I've been thinking about it a lot recently. I mean, you and 2.0 do it all the time…and I'm your boyfriend too, so…" Kaito chewed nervously on his lip, looking like he desperately wanted Saguru to just read his mind. With a deep breath Kaito looked up and leaned in to kiss his Prince Charming. "Make love to me," he whispered as he pulled away, scrunching his eyes closed, afraid to see what kind of look was on Saguru's face.

The blonde was…surprised, to say the least. "Kai-chan…are you sure you really want something like that? Are you certain you're ready? And…is now really a good time? 2.0, Kid, and Kudo…did not sound like they were being exactly gentle with that body of yours."

"Do you love me?" Kaito asked softly.

"More than you can imagine," Saguru assured. "That is _not_ the issue here."

"Then make love to me," Kaito insisted.

"…I can deny you nothing," Saguru sighed, sliding Kaito off of him as he stood up. He took the young boy by the hand and led him back to his bedroom.

"W-Wait." Kaito came to a stop just outside the doorway.

"What's the matter, Dove?"

"C-Could you…pick me up bridal style?" Kaito blushed.

Saguru grinned from ear to ear. "You're just as much of a sentimental romantic as I am." He almost effortlessly swept the smaller teen off of his feet and carried him across the threshold and over to the bed. He smiled lovingly at his boyfriend. "Kaito, just let me know if I'm hurting you and I'll stop, okay?"

"It'll be fine," No1 assured, nervously fingering the band of his pajama pants. "You'll be careful with me."

Saguru nodded, taking a seat on the bed beside Kaito and starting to remove his shirt.

Kaito's hands joined his in undoing the buttons, and next Kaito slid his own cotton shirt off over his head. He smiled, blushing self-consciously. "Sorry about the marks." He squirmed, fingering the hickeys Kudo had left behind.

"You're gorgeous, Dove. Look at me." Saguru took him by the chin and tilted it up so that Kaito would be forced to meet his gaze.

Kaito's face reddened. "Am I…am I sexy?"

"God, yes," Saguru chuckled running his hands down the length of Kaito's body, starting at the cheeks and stopping to rest on Kaito's hips. "Kaito, I adore you."

"Saguru," Kaito breathed, placing his hands on top of the blonde's and lifting his hips so that Saguru could slide his pajama pants and boxers down.

With a long, lazy kiss, Saguru laid Kaito down on the bed beneath him, simultaneously undoing the belt, button, and zipper on his own trousers.

Kaito giggled nervously once the kiss finally broke. "G-Go easy on me, okay? It's my first time."

"Of course, Dove," Saguru whispered, beginning to explore Kaito's body.

Strangely enough, the same moves and tricks that sent 2.0 writhing and moaning in pleasure didn't seem to have the same effect on No1, but Saguru quite enjoyed learning the ins and outs of the younger Kuroba's body. It was like having a new puzzle to piece together, a new mystery to solve. No1 even made different noises than 2.0. No1 mewed softly in pleasure whenever Saguru found a particularly sensitive spot. It was the most adorable sound.

Saguru concentrated on going slow, setting a languid pace at first and letting Kaito speed it up on his own as he adjusted. Still, the detective was careful not to lose himself in the moment, instead paying close attention to every twitch of Kaito's body, every hitch in his breath.

"Doing okay, Dove?"

"Ngn," Kaito moaned, nails digging into Saguru's back.

"Kaito?" Saguru started to pull back.

Kaito held fast to him, maintaining the friction between their bodies. "D-Don't stop," he begged, pressing his hips upwards.

Saguru complied, pressing his lips apologetically to Kaito's clavicle as he returned the thrust.

Kaito clung to him afterwards, basking in the afterglow as 2.0 also delighted in doing. Saguru was free to whisper sweet nothings, run his fingers through Kaito's hair, stroke Kaito's back, and do whatever else he wished so long as he didn't interrupt the basking. Not for the first time was he amazed at how their bodies fit together. Kaito slid so naturally into his arms, resting comfortably along the curve of his body.

"Saguru?" Kaito slowly opened his indigo eyes and peered up at his prince.

"Yes, Dove?"

"I was thinking about all those people that got killed."

"Kaito, don't. You don't need to concern yourself with that." Saguru tried to get off the subject, concerned for his little love's welfare.

"No, listen," Kaito argued. "Saguru, I was thinking about it, and…it's not my fault. True, I can't say that it has absolutely nothing to do with me, but _I'm_ not the one who killed them. It's not my fault, so I don't have to feel guilty and blame myself for their deaths. And…I love you, Saguru, and I want to live for you. I may not always be the one in charge of making the decisions for the three of us, but, as much as I have control over it, I want to live for you."

"I feel the same about you," Saguru cooed, placing a light kiss on the tip of Kaito's nose. "Kai-chan, you may just be even more mature than your roommates."

"Ya think?" Kaito giggled.

"Yes, now let's get cleaned up and join Kudo in the guestroom. I know for a fact that waking up beside him the morning after is a big deal for the other two, and it would be terrible of us to deny them that now." Saguru gradually separated himself from Kaito's limbs that had at one point or another managed to twist around his body like a vine.

"I want to wake up next to you," Kaito pouted, refusing to move from the bed.

"Come now, Dove. I'll be coming with you," Saguru assured. "The bed in the guestroom is a queen-size, so we should all fit comfortably."

"So long as you're coming too," Kaito sighed, crawling out of bed after his mate.

…

Mikau: Not what you were expecting, was it? Our little No1 is growing up. Really this chapter didn't advance the plot, but I felt like everyone needed a moment to sort out their feelings/take out their frustrations/say their peace. Kaito's anger at Shinichi needed to be resolved, and then their relationship needed to be patched up, and poor Hakuba just needed a break. And so this chapter was born. What did you think? Thanks for your continued readership guys!


	68. The Green-Eyed Beast

Mikau: Hi everyone! I'm a little late with my update this week; sorry about that. I've got exams. Anyway, thanks a bunch to reviewers from last time: Bunnyz-chan, MeitanteiRose, and patternleap! Also, I want to apologize for their not being a Roses chapter again this week. HP Kaito has been majorly interfering. I suppose that's good for you HP people, not so good for you Roses people. Regardless of which faction you fall under, thanks so much for your patience and support. And, without further ado, on to the next CTM chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd see what I could do about making Conan's outfits into an actual clothing line. He's got some cute stuff (dorky suit jacket and bowtie aside). I especially like the outfit with the pockets on the sleeves.

…

The Green-Eyed Beast

The next morning Kaito woke up incredible sore, but happy to be in the company of his two favorite detectives. There was just one thing ruining his perfect morning: No1.

The youngest personality was going on and on and _on_ about his night with Detective Charming. The way he held me, the way he kissed me, the way he looked at me, and, oh! the way he touched me!

If 2.0 had to hear another word about how magical No1's fairytale romance was, he was going to throw up and then maybe strangle No1 with his bare hands.

"It felt like I was on fire!" No1 cooed, giggling like a school girl and blushing like a virgin.

"_Could you get any more clichéd?"_ 2.0 mentally snorted.

"It was like fireworks going off!" the gushing continued.

"_Okay. I stand corrected."_

"He was so gentle with me. He treated me like I was made of porcelain." No1's hands went to his cheeks as he sighed wistfully. "No one's ever treated me like that before…like I was precious. It was just like in the fairytales."

Finally 2.0 had had enough. "Dude. You two had sex. It's _not_ a big deal, so get the hell over it already."

"It _was_ a big deal!" No1 pouted, his childish side coming out. "It was special. It wasn't just sex—he made love to me!"

"Seriously?" 2.0 scoffed. "Same diff. Guru and I sleep together all the time. What you two did was exactly the same. It wasn't _special_."

"Yes it was!" No1 snapped, balling his fists. "Saguru and I _made love_, and it was too special. When you two 'sleep together' all you're doing is going at each other like animals. Saguru and I were on a completely different level of intimacy last night. You're just jealous that all you can do with him is screw while I can take it higher." No1 turned up his nose at his other personality and sniffed delicately.

2.0 snorted, rolling up his sleeves and preparing to deck the younger teen. "What a load of—"

"—Hey," Kid finally jumped in when he saw things were getting violent. "Cut the catfight, will ya?"

"He started it," 2.0 grumbled.

"No, that was you," Kid retorted. "Look, I get that the continual word vomit about all the mushy-gushy details from last night is annoying, but, if I remember correctly, you were the same way after your first times too. Heck, you still sometimes go on like that, and we sit through it and let you babble like a lovesick fool each and every time. The kid just fu—_made love_—with his boyfriend for the first time. He's allowed to wax poetic a little."

2.0 stuck out his lip in a pout as No1 smirked triumphantly, going back to sighing and giggling about Saguru.

…

Shinichi had left after breakfast to investigate Ekoda station and some of the places the victims had been snatched from, so that left Saguru and Kaito alone in the study, and Saguru noticed that his boyfriend was being uncharacteristically quiet.

"How are you feeling, Kai? You had a rough night last night, didn't you?"

Kaito shrugged, grunting noncommittally in response.

"Are you okay, Kaito?" Hakuba looked up from his papers, not bothering to take off his reading glasses as he stood and went over to the couch where Kaito was lounging. "What's wrong?"

"You like him better than me," Kaito snapped, flinging a throw pillow and hitting Saguru in the stomach.

"Sorry?" A blonde eyebrow shot straight up in confusion. "What are we talking about?"

"That little minx!" the magician growled, throwing his legs over the side of the couch and coming up to sitting with his arms crossed. "The one that you screwed—sorry—_made love_ with last night.

"I bet you just ate up his little innocent and naïve act. I bet you love the way he pretends to be so helpless and fragile. God, he makes me sick with his little damsel in distress routine," Kaito ranted.

"Wait a minute." Saguru finally got a word in. "You're talking about the other Kaito, the first one."

"Duh. How many other minxes did you get into bed with last night?" Kaito bristled.

"I can't believe it. You're jealous," the British sleuth managed to put two and two together at last.

"Hell yeah, I'm jealous," Kaito retorted, rising to his feet. "My boyfriend is cheating on me with a little tramp."

Saguru could do little more than stare blankly at Kaito with his mouth hanging open. "I don't believe this. Kaito, Dove, last night I slept with _you_. I made love to _you_. I am not cheating on you."

"He's not me!" Kaito shouted, teeth bared.

"Kaito, my sweet beloved, you're getting jealous of _yourself_. You do realize how ridiculous that is?" Saguru attempted to diffuse the situation.

"He's not me!" Kaito stressed again.

Hakuba bit his lip. "Kaito, dear, don't get upset, but I believe that after this ordeal is over and Hiro-san has returned, you two need to have a very long discussion about this. For now, can we both agree that your concern over my fidelity is unwarranted?"

"No," Kaito growled. "'Cause last night you were kissing and touching some other guy, telling him how much you loved him, how he was cute and gorgeous and…and how you adored him."

Saguru took a deep breath and a step back. "Okay. Say for a minute that you and Kai-chan are two completely different people. Say that I love him and you at the same time and wish to carry on concurrent relationships. You have a problem with that?"

"Yes!" Kaito exclaimed, stamping his foot like a child.

"And how is that any different from what you yourself are doing with Kudo and me?" Saguru inquired smoothly.

Kaito opened his mouth to protest, but the words died on his tongue.

"It's not, is it?" Saguru pressed.

"Fine," Kaito muttered under his breath. "It's fine. All I have to do is keep him locked up. If I don't let him out, he can't mess things up between us."

"Kuroba Kaito, you are acting like a selfish, immature, spoiled brat, and it is beneath you. I ask that you cease and desist this instant before I decide that I am sick of putting up with your crap. This is the only warning I intend to give," Hakuba replied calmly, resting his hands on his hips as he awaited Kaito's answer.

The magician's face twisted in hurt as tears threatened to well over and spill out.

And then his expression changed entirely into one of annoyance and frustration as he held up his hands to make a T. "Time. If there is anyone sick of putting up with crap, it's me. I can't take the constant drama. Saguru, you will never believe the catfight that has been going on in my head _**all morning**_."

The detective blinked. "K-Kaitou?"

"Sup?" the thief sighed. "Been a while, huh?"

"Yes, yes it has," Saguru chuckled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you. Could you please explain what the bloody hell is going on here?"

Kid shrugged, returning to sit on the couch, leaning back nonchalantly and crossing one leg over the other. "Drama, my friend. High school drama. In short, your boyfriends are a bunch of bratty, immature kids. It's a little bit like they're fighting over a toy, if you asked me."

"I honestly can't believe this," Saguru slowly exhaled, going back to sit down at his desk chair.

"Honestly, I saw it coming." Kid rolled his eyes. "2.0 has been making jokes about losing his boyfriend to himself for months. Obviously he's insecure."

"That's stupid. He has no reason to be," Saguru snorted. "How many times have I declared my love for him? Is he under the impression that I would sleep with just anyone? Surely he can't be doubting my feelings towards him?"

"No." Kid looked away to his right, making some pretense of being interested in what was happening outside the window. "No. That's not really it. He knows you love him…he just thinks you love No1 more."

"Well, tell him that love is absolute. Just as he keeps telling me he loves both Kudo and myself equally, tell him I love him and Kai-chan the same," Saguru replied impatiently.

"He still feels inadequate," Kid mumbled. "It's hard to explain. Maybe I should let him talk for himself?"

"Not at the moment," Saguru sighed. "I don't really feel like speaking with him right now. I am a patient man, but…there really is a limit to how understanding and forgiving one can be. He's right; I am utterly burnt out. I haven't been getting decent sleep, and I am stressed out because of this case. On top of that, I fear for the man I love's life, so, really, can you honestly expect me to tolerate…" With another sigh Saguru stopped talking and closed his eyes.

He opened them once more and walked over to the couch to take a seat beside Kid. "Who am I kidding? Kaitou, if I could please speak to 2.0?"

Kid raised an eyebrow at his friend, communicating that he did not think that to be the best idea, but surely enough he shrugged in a "suit yourself" fashion, and then it was 2.0 sitting on the couch beside the detective.

"Guru?" Kaito gulped, hardly daring to meet Saguru's golden gaze.

"'Doubt thou the stars are fire; doubt that the sun doth move; doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love'," Saguru whispered, leaning in and crushing his lips to Kaito's, pushing the magician down on the couch.

"H-Hamlet?" Kaito gasped when their lips finally parted.

"Hamlet, Dove," Saguru confirmed, running a hand through Kaito's hair. "Have I ever given you reason to doubt me?"

"No," Kaito mumbled, avoiding Saguru's eyes.

"Darling, I would never do anything to hurt you," Saguru whispered, gently massaging the brunette's scalp. "One, because I love you madly, and, two, because you're not a lot of fun to deal with when you're upset."

"Shin-chan disagrees with you," Kaito chuckled. "He said the sex is better when I'm pissed."

"I'd rather have you happy," Saguru hummed, pressing a small line of kisses to Kaito's ear from the top to the bottom. "I'm satisfied with the quality of our physical interactions thus far. Your happiness is more important."

Kaito turned and finally faced his mate. "I want…I want you to be happy too. I want to be a better boyfriend. I'm sick of always being so emotionally volatile. I don't want to be immature. I don't want to be jealous, but…no matter how much I don't want them, I've still got these feelings inside of me. Poker face can only cover so much. On the inside, I'm an ugly person."

"Kaito, on the inside, a lot of people are hideous. You just can't see it." Saguru lovingly brushed Kaito's bangs back, stroking the other boy's hair in an attempt to comfort the teen. "You see the glamorous outside that everyone has plastered on like makeup and you compare your less than pretty insides to that, getting a skewed picture of yourself. You have no idea what other people are really like…what they're hiding. There's one thing I can tell you, though: human beings are all the same on the inside, and I've seen the literal insides of human beings. Trust me, we're all ugly."

"Geez," Kaito laughed weakly. "That's deep, Detective Hakuba."

"I have my moments." With a smirk, Saguru gave the tip of Kaito's nose a peck. "Feel better?"

Kaito shook his head in shame as they both sat up. "Still jealous as hell and planning to smoother No1 in his sleep."

"Dove?" Hakuba reached out and laid his hand on top of Kaito's. "I remember you telling me long ago that you, Kaitou, and Kai-chan were not separate individuals, but rather facets of the same person. Is that no longer true?"

Kaito hung his head. "We're still…parts of the same consciousness. It's just…we used to bleed into each other more. Now, after falling in love, we've kind of developed a little more of our own personalities. It's to the point where we argue about things and they yell at me and…and purposefully antagonize me like No1 did this morning. I don't feel like we're all the same person anymore."

Saguru nodded, completely out of his element. "Kaito, I am eighteen years old and have very little knowledge about your condition and circumstances. I believe Hiro-san could help you three sort this out a lot better than I, so I strongly recommend that you speak with him once he returns. I am not suggesting medicine or attempting to make you quote unquote 'normal', merely that you, Kai-chan, Kaitou, and Hiro-san talk. He may be able to mediate better than I can. I'm not exactly a neutral party, and I have no clue what I'm dealing with here. I'm in over my head, and I admit it."

"Kid thinks that's a good idea." Kaito shrugged, drawing his knees to his chest. "No1 doesn't have much of an opinion, and I…I'm only vaguely opposed."

"Good. Then you'll think about it." Saguru hesitated a moment before asking. "…I take it Kai-chan is well, then?"

"Just peachy," Kaito muttered a little bitterly, hair standing on end. "He's splendid. Over the moon. Couldn't be happier, and it's making me sick."

"And why's that?" Hakuba's brow furrowed slightly as he studied his cherub's face, slowly growing cloudy with apprehension and conflict. "Kaitou mentioned something about you fearing that I loved Kai-chan more than you. I assure you, Kaito, that's not true in the least. I _don't_."

"Why don't you?" Kaito snapped in misery. "Why don't you love him more? He's the perfect demure and helpless Snow White to your Prince Charming! And what the hell am I?"

Saguru's eyes widened slightly and then he smiled. "I've told you before, haven't I? You're the Irene Adler to my Sherlock Holmes. You two simply have different roles. How does that make you an any less suitable match for me?"

Kaito blinked, a smirk slowly coming to his lips. "It…doesn't…does it?"

Saguru shook his head, chuckling softly at his silly little magician.

"Irene Adler, huh? Actually, that's better than being Snow White, isn't it?" Kaito grinned, feeling quite smug. "That means I'm sexier, aren't I? And I kick butt. All Snow White ever did was fall for the witch's trap and lie about in a coffin, waiting for someone to save her, but Irene Adler's kind of BA, isn't she?"

Saguru held out his hands, palms up, with a raise of his shoulders. "I love you and Kai-chan equally, and that is all I am saying on the subject. Are we better now, Kai?"

"Yeah," Kaito replied with a sheepish smile. "Yeah. Better. Hey, I'm gonna go meet up with Kiku-chan. We sent out that heist notice, so she'll be going out tonight to take my place. I wanna go over some of the plans with her. I mean, I know she's some kind of dangerous secret agent or something, but she's still like my own personal overbearing big sister, and I worry about her. I wanna go pretend I'm useful."

Hakuba nodded. "I will allow you to leave my sight on the condition that Baaya drives you and you check in with me periodically. The terms are non-negotiable."

Kaito shrugged. "I'd like to say you're a worrywart, but we'll do it your way. Text me if you make any progress in the case."

"Be safe, Dove," Saguru instructed, giving his boyfriend a kiss goodbye.

"Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Guru." With a chuckle, Kaito waved over his shoulder and headed out.

Saguru headed back to his desk and tried to concentrate on the case, but he just couldn't focus on the work.

The house was too quiet. Which was funny. The Hakuba Manor had never been a lively place, but now with Kudo and Kaito and Baaya gone, it seemed a little empty. Saguru should have been used to the solitude of the manor after so long, but suddenly everything was just too still.

Things had been pretty eventful lately. Kaito had made himself an almost permanent fixture in Saguru's room, and when Kaito hadn't been around, Saguru had been spending a great deal of time with Kudo. Come to think of it, when was the last time that he had truly been alone for any substantial stretch of time?

"Making any progress? Where's Kaito?"

Saguru jumped at the unexpected break in the silence.

"Sorry." Shinichi sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, chewing on his lip. "Deep in thought about the case?"

"Ah…no, I'm afraid. Just…deep in thought." Saguru laughed in embarrassment. Without realizing it, he'd zoned out for a good half hour.

"Where's Kaito?" The other detective frowned as he scanned the room.

"He went to meet with Miss Monroe. Baaya drove him, and he's agreed to check in with me from time to time. You needn't worry about him, Kudo," Saguru assured his co-boyfriend, knowing that the other teen had been extremely on edge about the magician-thief's safety.

Shinichi stopped chewing and bit his lip. He took a deep breath and shrugged. "Okay. It's fine. If he's with Kiku-chan, he'll be fine…. If he's really going to see Kiku-chan, that is."

"So untrusting," Saguru sighed fondly. "He had no reason to lie. He wants to feel helpful, so he's going to go over the plans for tonight's heist with her. I'm sure she and the Special Interests Unit have their own plan in place, but Miss Monroe probably values Kaito's opinion and has some things to discuss with him. At the very least she'll humor him, keeping him safe and entertained…and out of our hair."

"Kidding," Saguru added after a beat when Shinichi didn't say anything.

"So…Kaito'll be gone for a while?" Shinichi surmised.

"Yes…?" Saguru's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why?"

Shinichi smirked, walking slowly across the room like a panther stalking its prey.

Saguru had an uneasy feeling about this.

Shinichi stopped in front of Saguru, still seated at the desk, and leaned forward, placing his hands on the headrest to either side of Hakuba.

"Kudo?"

"I was thinking," Shinichi admitted with a smile. "You know…the other night after the movie, about what Kaito said."

Saguru was still in the dark and resisting the urge to put some distance between himself and the brunette. Only…now, up close, Shinichi really did bear a striking resemblance to Kaito. The eyes and hair were wrong, but the cheekbones and the nose were spot on. They really could have been twins.

"You wear contacts?" Shinichi frowned, bottom lip sticking out ever so slightly.

Saguru blinked rapidly. "D-Did Kaito say something like that? I don't remember after the movie."

"Yeah, 'cause you were exhausted," Shinichi chuckled, studying the Brit's eyes more closely. He had never been close enough to notice before, but now that he was only a foot and a half away, he could see that the other boy wore contacts. Or a contact, rather. "No. I just noticed right now that there's a contact in your right eye."

"Oh. Um…yes…I…" Saguru sighed, reaching up and removing the golden contact. "As you can see…"

Shinichi's eyes widened. "Wow," he breathed. "That's beautiful. Why in the world would you hide…well, I guess you wouldn't want anything that made you stand out even more when your appearance is already so…unique." Shinichi shrugged admiring the crystal clear blue of Saguru's right eye.

"You…really think it's…beautiful? Kaito likes it as well, but…most people just think it's creepy. The other children used to laugh at me." Saguru shuddered at the horrid childhood memories.

"No. It really is gorgeous…like an aquamarine. Hakuba, little kids are monsters. Believe me, I go to school with them."

The two detectives shared a laugh.

"You should keep the contact out…at least for a while." Shinichi smiled his approval.

"T-Thank you." Saguru blushed, shifting awkwardly. "So…why are you invading my personal space, Kudo? You mentioned something that Kaito had said?" The blonde cocked his head to the side.

"It was when I suggested that we sleep together and Kaito thought I meant 'sleep together' sleep together," Shinichi reminded Saguru of the conversation. "Kaito had said that he'd be interested in having a real threesome, and I've been thinking about it."

Hakuba's mouth went dry as it dropped halfway to the floor.

"I have to admit that you really are attractive…Saguru," Shinichi whispered. "And I have to confess that…I like to watch you and Kaito. And I couldn't help but notice when I transformed, you were checking out my body."

"I was…I simply…" Saguru stuttered, brain whirling so fast that it was unable to process anything.

"You think I'm handsome too, don't you?" Shinichi baited, leaning in closer.

Entranced, Saguru leaned forward, as if he were pulled towards Shinichi by a magnet. Catching himself, he pulled back. "Yes, but not to the point of unfaithfulness."

"It's not being unfaithful if Kaito consents," Shinichi reasoned with a chuckle. "You want to make Kaito happy, don't you…Saguru?"

"Y-Yes," Saguru gulped, leaning in once more, eyes slowly drifting shut.

Shinichi quickly closed the gap, taking Saguru's face in his hands and roughly pulling him forward, smiling into the kiss.

Overwhelmed, Saguru obediently opened his mouth, allowing Shinichi's tongue in. He shyly moved his lips in sync with the other detective, all the while feeling…nothing.

There was no fire, no spark. No heat, no passion like there always was with Kaito.

It was just…wet and, frankly, kind of gross now that he thought about it. There he was with Kudo's tongue down his throat. Didn't Kudo know how many kinds of bacteria were contained in the average human mouth?! And the saliva…! Don't get me started on the saliva. Gross! And it was getting in Saguru's mouth!

This was awkward.

Apparently Shinichi was kind of coming to that conclusion as well because his once impassioned kiss was slowly losing steam.

Saguru put his hands on Shinichi's chest and firmly pushed the other detective away.

They both frowned.

"…That was…" Shinichi bit his lip.

"Like kissing my brother," Saguru supplied.

"Yeah," Shinichi agreed, looking kind of weirded out. "Yeah. Um…no disrespect, but…do you happen to have any mouthwash?"

"God, yes." Saguru breathed a sigh of relief. "The sooner I get my teeth brushed and gargle with mouthwash, the better."

They beat a hasty retreat to the bathroom down the hall and spent the next five minutes sanitizing. Once they'd finished, they snuck surreptitious glances at each other out of the corners of their eyes. Shinichi caught Saguru's gaze and broke down in a fit of giggles. Saguru quickly joined in.

"Oh my God," Shinichi chortled. "Hakuba, I am so sorry."

"Probably just about as sorry as I am," the Brit returned, a smirk showing off his freshly cleaned teeth. "You're no Kuroba Kaito."

"Hey!" Shinichi pouted. "The same to you, pal."

"Can we pretend that never happened? Please?" Saguru chuckled.

"Let's. That was just…It felt like…wrong on so many levels." Shinichi shook his head. "I mean…you're my friend. _Just_ my friend. You are cute, though."

Saguru blushed. "W-Why thank you."

Shinichi elbowed his fellow detective in the side. "Don't get an ego over there. I have to say, I enjoy flirting with you, but…"

"Let's not take it any further than flirting," Saguru suggested with a smile. "What I do with Kaito is…well, sacred. I would never betray him by doing anything of a physical nature with you, even if he did consent to it. I'm exceptionally fond of you, Kudo, but…I don't love you."

"Yeah." Shinichi shrugged. "I could probably go through the motions of sleeping with you, if Kaito wanted us to, but…it wouldn't mean anything. I don't love you either. There's only one man for me."

"Two. You forget about Kaitou…Kid, I mean," Saguru pointed out.

"Aren't they the same person?" Shinichi cocked his head to the side. "I was under the impression that Kaito's various personalities were still all…you know…Kaito."

Saguru's brow furrowed as his gaze dropped down to the sink. "You know, I…I slept with the first Kaito last night…the one they call No1. 2.0 nearly bit my head off this morning because of it. He said I'd cheated on him. I believe the personalities are starting to separate."

Shinichi's eyes widened. "What…what does that mean exactly?"

The blonde shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know."

"Oh." Shinichi shifted uneasily. "That doesn't sound good."

…

Mikau: Now wasn't that a fun chapter. It was good to see Kid again. It feels like so long. Unfortunately, Kaito 2.0 takes up the majority of the plot. Kid and No1 are fairly low-maintenance compared to him so, they don't show up nearly as much. The Saguru/Shinichi bromance was entertaining to write as well, so I hope you guys enjoyed that. Thanks so much for sticking with me for nearly seventy chapters now. Let me know what you thought, and I'll see you next time!


	69. The Planning Stages

Mikau: Hi guys! Long time no see! I'm sorry. I've been preoccupied with HP lately. And finals and prom season and Mother's Day and a little bit of writer's block. Anyway, Here's the newest CTM chapter. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much to Bunnyz-chan, OCF, patternleap, and MeitanteiRose who reviewed last chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Ayumi would have her own special episode. She's adorable, and that adorableness should really be documented. Just one episode about her own little adventure or maybe an episode shown from her perspective. We follow Conan around a lot. It would be cool to hear someone else's thoughts.

…

The Planning Stages

"How are you doing?" Shinichi whispered to his bedmate, lightly running his fingers up and down Kaito's ribcage.

"Fine," Kaito answered automatically, his mind obviously elsewhere. "It doesn't hurt as much as it did in the beginning. My body's fine."

"I wasn't asking about your body," Shinichi hummed, cupping Kaito's cheek and turning his head so that Kaito would have to look at him. "You're worried about Kiku-chan, aren't you? She's supposed to be going out as Kid soon, isn't she?"

Kaito shook his head, sending his mate a tired smile. "I'm just brooding about the whole situation…you know?"

"Kai-chan…Yeah. I get it." Shinichi leaned in for a long, slow kiss.

"I'm gonna go get cleaned up and check on Guru," Kaito announced, voice apologetic.

"Yeah. That stubborn blonde is probably still at it in the study." Shinichi rolled his eyes. "He's burning himself out on this case…won't give himself even a half an hour off. You should go knock him out with sleeping gas or something. Force him to take a break."

"I think I will," Kaito chuckled. "Thanks for being so understanding, Shin-chan."

Shinichi shrugged it off as Kaito rolled out of bed. "It's nothing. I care about the guy too, after all."

Kaito turned in the doorway and put on an over-exaggerated pout. "So long as you don't care _too_ much. He's spoken for, and don't think I'm giving him up without a full-fledged war."

The detective gave his lover a half-smirk accompanied by a mock salute. "Sir, yes, Sir."

"So long as we understand each other." Kaito winked. "At ease, Private."

…

Hakuba Saguru was, as expected, in the study burning the midnight oil working on the case. He was wearing earplugs once again, and so he didn't hear Kaito sneaking up.

The blonde looked absolutely exhausted. There were bags under his eyes, and the lamplight made his face look sallow and sickly. He sighed and scratched his head as he checked and quadruple checked the files over and over again.

Kaito placed his hands over those honey and steel blue eyes.

"Kai-chan?" Saguru guessed. "What's the matter, Love? Everything okay?"

Kaito tensed and dropped his hands as the hair stood straight up on the back of his neck. "Guess again," he muttered.

Saguru took out the earplugs and turned to face his boyfriend. "Kaito? I'm sorry, Dove. I didn't realize…"

Kaito shrugged with a snort, turning to leave and heading for Saguru's room.

"Kaito," Saguru sighed, following right after. "Kai, wait. I'm sorry. Honest to goodness, I'm sorry. I thought you'd be with Kudo, so I wasn't expecting…"

Kaito turned and closed the door after Saguru.

"What do you want from me, Dove?" Exhaling slowly, the blonde gave up. He shrugged and let his arms drop to his sides.

Without a word, Kaito walked over to the bed, letting his shirt and pajama pants fall to the floor behind him. He lounged on the bed and looked back expectantly at Saguru.

"What?" Saguru frowned, crossing his arms. "No. I'm not sleeping with you."

"Why not? You slept with _him_," Kaito snapped.

Saguru took a deep breath as he rubbed his temples. "Look. This isn't…you don't keep score like that in relationships, Kaito. I love him. I love you. There is no more or less. Didn't we settle this this morning, Kaito?"

Kaito just looked sadly at his mate before crawling under the covers.

Shedding his outer layer of clothing, Saguru climbed into bed as well. He wrapped his arms around the smaller teen and pressed a kiss to Kaito's shoulder at the junction with his neck. "I can't read your mind, you know."

"Will you believe I actually came in there to make you go to bed? I'm worried. You're running yourself into the ground, Guru. You need to take better care of yourself…but then I just saw red when you called me by his name. I get it. I _swear_ I get it, but…you're _mine_, Saguru. _Mine_, and I've never played nice with other children. I've never been good at sharing."

"Just curious, how do you make this work between you, Kaitou, and Kudo?"

"Ah." Kaito nodded. "It's different. Kid's not in love with Shin-chan. He's just a slut. He also wants me to tell you that he prefers the term 'tactile'. Even though he's fond of Shinichi, the one he has a thing for is me. I'm not worried about Kid stealing Shin-chan emotionally from me. No1…he's crazy about you, and I'm just worried…"

"I…kind of see where you're coming from," Saguru sighed, giving his boyfriend a little squeeze. "I'll try to be patient with your outbreaks of jealousy, but…I don't know what solution we could possibly come up with. After this is all over, you'll speak to Hiro-san."

Kaito nodded.

There was a tentative knock on the door.

"Come in!" Hakuba called, sitting up.

Shinichi peeked his head in, holding out Kaito's phone. "It's Kei-san."

Kaito hopped over Saguru and out of bed, reaching for the phone. "H-Hello? Is Kiku-chan alright?"

Kaito's face paled. "Are…Are _you_ alright, Kei-san?"

Shinichi came over and sat down on the bed beside Saguru. "Kei-san sounded upset," he whispered gravely.

"You mean you could actually tell he was experiencing an emotion other than indifference?" Suddenly Saguru was very worried. "The situation must be quite serious, then."

"I think so," Shinichi sighed, running his hands through his hair as Kaito finished up the call.

The magician dropped his hands to his sides and stared at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever for, Dove?"

Kaito shook his head as he came over and grabbed both of his boyfriends, pulling them into a tight group hug. "I'm sorry for not listening to you guys. You were right. If I had gone out there, they would have killed me.

"Kiku-chan's in critical condition. Kei-san sounded frantic. You were right. This is way bigger than me."

"It's okay, Kaito," Shinichi whispered, nuzzling the other brunette's ear. "She's one tough chick. She's going to be okay, and we're going to get these monsters."

"Poor, Kei-san." Saguru shuddered. "I can only imagine what he's going through."

"Let's…go to sleep," Kaito suggested. "I'm tired."

"Me too," Saguru seconded the motion, and Shinichi agreed.

…

The next morning after the boys had picked over breakfast, they set out to Kiku-chan's apartment.

Their morale instantly rose the moment they crossed the threshold due to the fact that they could hear Chrisy screaming "Damn it all to hell, Kei! I can move just fine on my own!"

Kaito chuckled as he pocketed his copy of the key.

"Well. Miss Monroe sounds like she's made quite the recovery." Hakuba smiled, filing in behind Shinichi as Kaito led the way.

"Of course I'm pissed!" Chrisy was still yelling. "I can't believe they've gone and killed three kids after I go out there and get myself riddled full of bullets!"

Kaito stopped in his tracks in the doorway to Chrisy's bedroom.

"They killed three kids?" Shinichi whispered, peeking around Kaito at the spy who was still sitting in bed.

"I didn't hear you come in, Kiddo," Chrisy gasped.

"You were screamin' at the time," Kei muttered, standing up and ushering the guests in.

"The Organization has killed children this time?" Saguru looked back and forth between Chrisy and Kei.

The redheaded man nodded somberly. "This morning."

A shudder spread like a wave through the three teens.

"Because they know they didn't kill me last night." Chrisy heaved a large sigh, running a hand through her uncharacteristically messy hair. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood.

You could tell she was stiff and sore, and she was covered in bandages and wraps.

"Are you sure you're okay, Kiku-chan?" Kaito mumbled, concern saturating his voice.

She smiled weakly and patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry about me, Kiddo…. They got me pretty good, though. I would have been holier than the pope, if not for the bulletproof vest."

Saguru chuckled at the joke.

Chrisy smiled and sent a nod of approval his way. "He gets it."

Kaito raised an eyebrow at Saguru.

"The Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. It's a pun on 'holy' and 'full of holes' in English," Saguru gave him the cliffnotes version.

Nodding, Kaito turned to Chrisy. "Regardless, Kiku-chan, go ahead and say 'I told you so'. You were right about me wanting to go out there."

She shrugged it off. "So long as you get the picture now."

"Speaking of 'now', what are we going to do?" Shinichi looked nervously at the others. "It sounds like they're going to keep killing no matter what. We can't win unless we take them down, can we?"

"No one's goin' out there again," Kei declared firmly, fixing both Chrisy and Kaito with a stern look. "Got it?"

Kaito gave a half-hearted nod.

"Got it, Chris?" Kei turned and glared at his crush.

She sighed, slowly lowering herself back down to sit on the bed. "Not tonight, anyway. We'll see about tomorrow."

"No," Kei retorted as if he were reprimanding a pet or a child. "No one's goin' out there. Ever again."

Chrisy looked lost in thought for a minute before she finally nodded. "Okay. I promise to stay alive for you on one condition."

Kei's eyebrows moved together almost imperceptibly. "Wha's that?"

"I'll stay alive for you if you marry me," Chrisy replied calmly.

Kei blinked and then smiled. In place of his usual tiny upturns of the lip, a small but visible smile lit up his face. "Yes…. Yes," he breathed.

"Yes!" Saguru whispered in victory.

Kaito and Shinichi chuckled.

"What? I've been rooting for them," Saguru pouted.

"Good." Chrisy smirked. "I've been thinking…Toi-chan would probably want me to get a life and move on and take care of myself and be happy and all that normal people crap, right?"

"Right." Kei nodded, his face stuck in a little grin.

"Cough. I feel like there should be a kiss now. Cough," Saguru pretended to cough. "Forgive me. I seem to have caught a cold."

Chrisy rolled her eyes and motioned for Kei to come closer. "Only for you, Goldilocks." With her less-bandaged hand she pulled Kei forward into a short, sweet kiss. "Okay. Mazel tov. Now what are we going to do about the upcoming apocalypse?"

The mood suddenly turned grim.

"…It's obvious that they're not gonna stop until they have a dead body," Kaito muttered. "They want Kid dead. You were right, Guru. Kaitou 1412 should have stayed dead and buried. I think it's time to lay him to rest again."

"How?" Saguru tensed.

"'Cause you're sure as hell not dying," Shinichi snorted.

Chrisy nodded in thought. "All we have to do is give them a dead body, right? We've got agents that die all the time. We've got dead bodies. All we have to do is make them think that one of them is Kid."

"While we're at it faking Kid's death, we should fake Pandora's destruction too. Put the whole accursed ordeal to bed," Kaito whispered.

"We can make a fake gem that glows, so long as they don't get too good of a look at it," Chrisy conceded. "I'm not quite sure how we're going to fake Kid's death, though, Kiddo. They'll need to see a live Kid before, and then we'll have to switch him or her out with the dead body. Anyone got brilliant ideas?"

"The river," Shinichi spoke up after a minute of thought. "There are boats going up and down that river. We could easily have the 'live' Kid drop into the river and pick them up with an unmarked boat, swapping them for the corpse dressed up as Kid."

Saguru nodded along as he listened to Shinichi's suggestion. "Yes. The icy water of the Teimuzu will make it difficult to determine the time of death. If you could get us a relatively fresh corpse, we could probably make this work."

"Kiddo, your detectives are good." Chrisy smirked. "There's a museum just a block or two from the river. We can set the heist there, so our Kid stand-in won't have to fly too far; however, we'll have to give the snipers a chance to get some hits in before the stand-in drops into the water. If Kid just falls out of the sky all of the sudden, they're bound to get suspicious. This has to seem real. How are we going to make the fall look real, though?"

"You'd have to take out my glider," Kaito volunteered. "Chrisy, you could make the shot. You know right where to shoot to make that thing fall out of the sky. After I hit the water, I'll slip on a little oxygen supply mask and quick change underwater while I swim to the boat. Then all we have to do is have them find 'Kid' shot through the heart, the gem in his chest pocket shot to pieces as well."

"You mean when the _stand-in_ hits the water and swims to the boat," Saguru sternly corrected.

"Yeah." Shinichi glared. "None of this first person crap."

"Guys, I have three stand-ins. Jii-chan's not going out there, Akako's not even official, and Kiku-chan's out of commission. Like hell I'm going to let someone else do this. I started this, and I'm going to finish it," Kaito snorted, arms crossing.

"What happened to you being wrong and sorry about fighting us on the 'there's no sodding way in f-ing hell you are going out there, Kuroba Kaito' thing?" Saguru growled.

"Kaito," Shinichi groaned, about ready to pull his hair out. "Hakuba, let's take a vote. Who thinks Kaito should go get himself killed? All in favor?"

Kaito raised his hand.

"All opposed?"

Shinichi and Saguru put their hands in the air.

"Looks like the nays have it, Honey. So sorry, Kai-chan." Shinichi smirked.

"Nope. The vote's three to two, I'm afraid," Kaito retorted. "Kid, No1, and I are going, and that's final."

"Let us speak to Kid," Shinichi muttered, growing more frustrated by the minute.

Kaito shrugged. Or maybe it was Kid at this point. "You heard the man. I _am_ Kid. I'm going to do this, guys. I'm sorry."

"Can I talk with Kai-chan?" Saguru requested, hoping that his little love would be more…sane.

"Saguru?" The youngest persona cocked his head to the side.

"Darling, what do you really think of all this? You can't seriously…I mean…Listen to reason, Love," Saguru begged.

"I'm kind of the swing vote, aren't I?" No1 gulped. "I…Saguru, as much as I…Saguru, I was serious when I said that I wanted to live for you, but…we can't put anyone else in danger. We couldn't live with ourselves if someone went out there and died in our place. It's our duty to do this. We resurrected Kaitou 1412, and we'll be the ones to bury him. Please try to understand, Saguru…Shinichi-san."

Sighing, Saguru took the seat that Kei had recently vacated.

Shinichi shook his head, turning to bang it softly against the wall. "I get it, Kaito, honestly I do, but…dammit. I just don't want to lose you."

"I know, Shin-chan…Guru," 2.0 sighed, back in control. "It's more than just our sense of duty, though. There's also the logistics. I mean, I know you'd pick a superhuman spy dude like you guys, Kiku-chan, but if their movements are too un-Kid-like, those trench-coats are bound to get suspicious. They have to be certain that the Kid that they 'kill' is the real Kid. Chances are the stand-in that you pick will be able to pull it off, but they probably won't pull it off like you or I would, Kiku-chan. They've got to move like Kid, and there aren't that many people that know how to do that."

Chrisy sighed. "Kaito, you are just like your father."

Kaito shrugged his left shoulder, a knowing smile on his face.

"Well, we've got to do it as soon as possible to avoid further casualties, and I'm in no shape to take a few hits, plunge into icy water, and swim underwater while changing in the dark. All I can do is safely clip your wings, Kiddo. You have a point. They have to be sure that it's really Kid they've 'killed'. Looks like you're the kaitou for the job."

"What?!" Kei and the two detectives exclaimed, turning on Chrisy.

"Really?" Kaito's face lit up. "You mean you'll let me do it?"

"No!" Shinichi and Saguru chorused, turning on Kaito.

"Oh, go on and let him." Chrisy shrugged.

"You sure, Chris?" Kei raised an eyebrow about half of a centimeter.

She nodded. "We'll make him as safe as possible with a vest and everything. It's not like any of us can really stop him. I mean, even if we do try to do a substitute, he'll just gas the guy and switch places with the stand-in before the heist. You know how he is. Once he's got an idea in his head and all that."

Kaito smirked triumphantly. "Thanks, Chrisy."

She rolled her eyes, brushing it off. "I'd have to exert a lot of effort to stop you, Kiddo, and I think my energies are better spent getting you in there, out of there, and safely on with your life…. So…Goldilocks, can I borrow your dining-room table? I'm going to need space for all of the maps and blueprints and stuff."

"If...If you think you can make it to the Hakuba Manor in your current state, Miss Monroe. I'd be more than happy to volunteer my house as base of operations," Saguru replied, coming out of his reverie.

"Yeah, no prob," she assured. "Kei'll drive."

…

Mikau: Yay! Finally moving ahead with the plan of action. Though, I think next chapter will be kind of fluffy with Saguru and Shinichi bits. It might take me two or so weeks to get it up and running, though. Like I kind of said before, HP has been taking up a lot of my time. I'll try not to keep you too long, though. Thanks for your patience, guys, and thanks for reading! In the meantime, I've got a new KaiShin one-shot called Caged Birds, if you'd like to check it out.


	70. Comfort and Assurances

Mikau: Hey guys. Rough week. We're still cleaning and restocking after Mother's Day at the flower shop, and my grandma had to be hospitalized. She's doing a lot better now, and she should be able to come soon once they get her rehydrated and stabilize her blood pressure. It's been kind of exhausting. As a result, I've only got CTM, my KaiShin collection, and a KaiShin one-shot called "Chained at the Ankle" for you this week. Sorry to all of the HP and Roses fans! Hopefully next week…. In other news, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter: Bunnyz-chan, MeitanteiRose, GeekyGenius, and patternleap!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Mouri would eventually wise up a bit. I know he's one of the comic relief characters, but I think we can take him a little more seriously every once in a while. Like in that time bombed rental car episode. That was beautiful.

…

Comfort and Assurances

The motley group arrived back at the Hakuba Manor not long afterwards, and they immediately set to planning.

Kei was making phone calls for Chrisy as Kiku-chan herself debated hotly with Kaito and Shinichi about their course of action. Occasionally Chrisy would take the phone from her fiancé and snap at the person on the other end, ensuring that her requests were carried out to the letter. Obviously the Ambassador for the Special Interests Unit held a lot of sway. Apparently a lot of people owed her favors…or feared her enough to comply with her wishes.

While the others discussed the best routes and all of the possible scenarios, Saguru found himself utterly unable to concentrate, leaving him with very little to contribute. He snuck off upstairs two hours into the process when Baaya was just serving a second round of tea and snacks. He claimed a headache and retired to his study.

Saguru curled up in his armchair, knees to his chest and arms around knees, letting his chin rest on top of his knees. He curled and uncurled his toes, just focusing on breathing and shutting out all of the horrible, terrifying thoughts whirling through his head. The fear was overwhelming.

"I sit a little like that too, when I'm thinking," Shinichi's voice pulled Saguru back into the present, making the blonde detective jump.

"Sorry," the meitantei chuckled, coming over and sitting down on the couch. "I didn't mean to startle you, Hakuba."

"It's…quite alright. I was just…just thinking." Saguru quickly straightened himself out, feet on the floor, slipping back into his house-shoes. "Sorry. Did you need me for something, Kudo?"

Shinichi shook his head, motioning for Hakuba to come sit next to him on the couch. "Actually, I was kind of wondering if _you_ needed _me_."

Saguru stopped mid-step on his way to Shinichi's side. "W-Why would I…?"

Shinichi shrugged, patting the seat next to him.

Saguru reluctantly sat down, facing forward, unable to look at the other detective for fear of being found out.

"Don't," Shinichi sighed. "It's an insult to my intelligence. I can see right through you, you know."

Saguru squeezed his eyes shut.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shinichi gently inquired.

Saguru shook his head.

Shinichi waited nearly three minutes in silence before getting to his feet to leave. "Well, know that I'm here."

Saguru's hand flew up, catching Shinichi's sleeve.

Both boys stared in surprise for a minute before Saguru let go as quickly as if he had touched a hot kettle. He looked away, down at the floor in embarrassment.

"It's okay," Shinichi assured fondly, sitting back down. "I'll stay and sit with you."

"No. They need you downstairs. It's more important," Saguru muttered, shaking his head in shame.

"No," Shinichi returned firmly. "You need me here, and it's pretty darn important too. You're important, Hakuba. Stop putting yourself on the back burner all of the time. You can't be there for Kaito, if you're not emotionally healthy yourself…says the hypocrite. Anyway, you have to take care of you, Hakuba."

"It's silly," Saguru grumbled, scooting closer to the brunette so that their shoulders barely brushed. It was comforting, the feel of another warm body next to his, just a centimeter away.

Shinichi inched closer so that their knees touched as well. "No it's not."

"I'm b-being stupid." Saguru started to tremble, even his voice shaking.

"No, you're not," Shinichi replied firmly.

Saguru closed the gap between them so that his arm and knee and thigh and hip actually touched Shinichi's. His body shook.

Shinichi took his hand and placed it on top of the back of Saguru's. He laced his fingers through the other teen's and squeezed. "I'm scared too."

That was the breaking point. Tears ran freely down Saguru's cheeks as he squeezed back. "Shinichi, I can't lose him. He can't die. I can't…I can't go back to being alone like that again. I can't do it. I don't ever want to go back to that horrible, lonely life. I don't want him to leave me. I'll never find anyone else. I couldn't take it. I couldn't take falling in love again. It was hard enough the first time. I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be without him, but he's a bloody idjit, and he's going to get himself killed!"

"Shh," Shinichi soothed, circling his thumb on the back of Saguru's hand. "It's going to be okay."

"You don't even believe that yourself," Saguru choked.

"I honestly don't know, Saguru," Shinichi confessed. "But…I've seen Kuroba Kaito perform miracles. Our man is extraordinary. You should see him down there planning. The light's back in his eyes. He's been looking so lost these past few days, feeling helpless, but now…watching him, it's amazing. Just the confidence he has in his abilities…it makes you think he really can pull it off. I think…I think I want to believe in him, Saguru. That doesn't mean I'm not going to be a wreck while he's actually out there doing it, but…I'm going to try not to worry during the planning stages. I'm going to try to keep my head clear so I can put my all into planning like he's doing."

"I can't focus like that," Saguru sniffled, pulling out a handkerchief and cleaning his face. More tears took the place of the ones he wiped away.

"I understand." Shinichi nodded. "What normal person could? You're probably the most normal of all of us, and that's not a bad thing. In our partnership, we need some normal to rein in all of the crazy. It's okay to feel the way you're feeling, Saguru…just…know that you're not alone, okay? Even if Kaito were to…if Kaito were…you still wouldn't be all alone, you know. You're never going back to that dark and lonely place. I won't let you."

Saguru blinked, looking up at Shinichi in confusion and…hope. "Shin…ichi?"

"I'm here," he promised. "You've still got me."

"Shinichi?" Saguru whispered, as if he couldn't believe it was actually true.

"I'm your contingency plan, remember?" Shinichi chuckled, giving the blonde a gentle nudge. "…And maybe…after a few decades…maybe we could learn to tolerate kissing each other."

Saguru broke out in a hardly contained giggle fit. "Never!" He gave his friend's hand a grateful squeeze. "Yesterday was positively mortifying. You, Kudo, are stuck in the 'friend zone'."

"We'll see." Shinichi smirked. "Give me a few decades, and I might be able to change your mind."

"Fat chance," Saguru snorted, putting his hand on Shinichi's face and playfully pushing it away.

"Yeah, well…at least I got you to smile." Shinichi shrugged, finally letting go of Saguru's hand.

"Of course," Saguru chuckled. "You reminded me that I need to focus and do everything in my power to insure Kaito's safety…or else I'll be doomed to spend the rest of my days with you."

"Hey, now," Shinichi snorted half-heartedly. "You might not have many days left if _I_ get _stuck_ with _you_, aggravating British git."

"What is it that Kaito says? 'Oh, you know you love me'?" Saguru smiled.

Shinichi pretended to shudder. "Ew. No. Gross…. Platonically? Yeah. 'Cause you're regrettably _my_ aggravating British git-in-law."

"Does that make you my rash-midget-thorn-in-my-side-in-law?" Saguru returned pleasantly.

"'Oh, you know you love me.'" Shinichi rolled his eyes with a smirk.

"Quite." Saguru returned the gesture before a serious look settled onto his face. "Kudo?"

Shinichi cocked his head to the side.

"Truly, you have my gratitude." Saguru leaned in and touched his nose to the underside of Shinichi's jaw. "Thank you, Shinichi."

Shinichi smiled, blushing slightly at the small gesture of affection. He reached out and cupped Saguru's cheek, giving it a fond pat. "You're welcome. I worry about you."

"I…I'm glad," Saguru admitted. "Thanks."

…

By the time the detectives made it back downstairs, Kaito was leading a war counsel in the dining room. In fact, Saguru's dining room was so full of strange people that they were starting to spill out into the hall.

"What the…?" Saguru breathed, giving a start at seeing so many strangers using the fine china Baaya had taken out of storage to accommodate them all.

"I called in some of my FBI contacts. They've worked with me trying to take down my own evil secret organization. I talked to Kaito and Kiku-chan, and we think the two organizations are branches of the same syndicate."

"That would make sense," Saguru supposed. "Otherwise there would be a turf war. Tokyo's big, but it's not big enough for two evil organizations."

"That's what we figured, so I called in the FBI to help. A couple of CIA and Kiku-chan's SIU are here too." Shinichi pointed out each organization's members. "FYI, Kaito's become an honorary SIU member. It was Kei-san's idea so people will take him seriously…and so that he can claim immunity for the grand larceny charges."

"Nakamori-keibu does not look pleased." Saguru snorted in amusement. "So I'm dating a secret agent now? That certainly makes him easier to introduce than, 'Yes, this is my vigilante boyfriend', doesn't it?"

Shinichi choked down a fit of laughter. "Hey, at least everything's working out in the end. The only thing I'm worried about is him getting bored after Kaitou 1412 'dies'. He's probably going to try to convince them to take him on as a regular member."

Saguru shivered. "Miss Monroe and Kei-san will take care of him…. He's suited to that type of work…busting drug dealers and human traffickers…recon…saving people and flushing out the bad guys. I'd rather he just sign on with the force, but…"

"…Yeah. I think he would like it, though…Kid and 2.0, anyway."

"You'd be surprised. My Kai-chan's brave. He has a strong moral character as well," Saguru bragged. "They just have to survive this ridiculous ordeal first."

"Have faith," Shinichi urged.

"Says the guy who was just raving about how he didn't trust Kaito to come back to us alive not a full week ago," Saguru mumbled.

…

After the strategy meeting, the various officers, agents, and operatives dispersed to make preparations for the Final Heist the next evening.

Kaito had written a notice and given it to Inspector Nakamori to publish in the papers, various media sites, and news broadcasts as soon as possible.

The senior officer had solemnly taken the note, looking at Kaito with mixed feelings flashing in his eyes. "…After this is all over…after you've pulled this off…we need to talk, Kaito-kun," Nakamori finally found the right words.

Kaito nodded, biting his lip nervously.

It wasn't thirty minutes later that the word was out online and all over the news: "I've found what you seek—the lady of legend who cries in the moonlight. I will destroy her tomorrow night. Haido City Museum. 10:33PM. Come out and play. –Kid"

"You guys okay?" Kaito continued to bite his lip as he looked to his boyfriends as the last of their guests drifted out.

Saguru shook his head. "Not until this nightmare is over."

"Poor Saguru's been getting the short end of the stick through this whole hellish process, haven't you?" Shinichi laughed softly, playfully nudging his friend.

"It's not like it's been a piece of cake for you either," Saguru mumbled.

Kaito's ears perked up. "He's 'Saguru' now, is he?"

The detectives shared a look of surprise for a minute before breaking into sheepish laughter.

"Sometimes." Shinichi shrugged.

"Hm." Kaito nodded, switching topics but filing the info away for later. "Guys, I'm gonna go with Kiku-chan and Kei to practice and iron out some of the fine details of the plan. You gonna be alright?"

"I'll keep an eye on…on Hakuba," Shinichi volunteered.

"I'm not an infant," Saguru protested.

"Doesn't mean you don't need someone watching out for you," Kaito chuckled, leaning in and giving the Brit a kiss.

Next, he turned and did the same to the other sleuth. "I'm gonna miss not having to bend over to kiss you. Love you, Shin-chan, Guru."

"Love you too," the boys called back as Kaito waved goodbye over his shoulder, heading out.

"I…" Saguru started softly.

"You?" Shinichi shot him a curious look.

"I…am going to miss you being like this as well," Saguru admitted, cheeks turning cherry red.

Shinichi was caught off guard for a second, but then a grin spread wide on his face.

"You…your presence is rather reassuring," Saguru continued. "…You've been a great source of comfort to me during these trials, and I believe I am going to miss your physical presence."

Shinichi gave his friend a gentle and supportive clap on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Hakuba. I'll still be around. It might even be better once I go back to being 'fun size'. You can always use me as a teddy bear. Kaito loves doing that. I'm not so sure he'll be willing to share, though," Shinichi chuckled. "Everything's going to be fine."

Saguru cracked a tiny smile. "I'm grateful for this newfound optimism of yours. It's what's keeping me together. That, and…well, Kaito. You're right. He's got his feet back underneath him, and I've seen the man we love perform miracles as well. I desperately want to believe in him too. I'll…try to have faith."

Shinichi nodded, giving his partner's shoulder a firm squeeze.

…

Mikau: Goodness, they're so cute. I've really developed a fondness for writing cute HakuShin scenes lately. I'm enjoying their bromance in this fic. It's good to finally have Kaito back on his feet, at least somewhat, too. He's such a strong guy; it's been hard putting him through such a rough time lately. Anyway, thank you so much for reading guys! Drop me a review on the way out, and let me know what you thought! I'm always glad to hear everyone's opinions/likes/dislikes. Take care!


	71. One Day More

Mikau: Hi everyone! Thanks so much for joining me again! This week I have the CTM chapter, and one fic each for my HakuKai and KaiShin collections. Roses and HP are in the works. Admittedly, my aunt's going to be in town this week, so I probably won't have much for you next week either, but I'll try my best. Please enjoy the chapter; I'm especially fond of the second half where they boys actually act like teenagers. And thanks, as always, to everyone who reviewed last time: Bunnyz-chan, SenkoHasegawa, MeitanteiRose, GeekyGenius, and CookieCutterz!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd be caught up on the anime. -.-; As it stands, I'm on episode 681; so close, and yet so far away.

…

One Day More

It was about ten o'clock when Kaito finally came home, and Saguru had just about given up hope of seeing his boyfriend that night when a hesitant knock came at the door.

"C-Come in!" The detective's voice faltered.

"Hey," Kaito greeted with a wave. "I'm home. Did you have a good day?"

Saguru shrugged, removing his reading glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "No, Dove. You? You look…You're glowing…. It feels like it's been so long since I've seen that sparkle in your eyes. Secret agent life is suiting you."

"Haha. Yeah." Kaito shrugged, laughing sheepishly as he came to sit down on the couch. "I've been training all day. I honestly feel prepared for this thing, Guru. I'm kind of stoked. What are you up to?"

Saguru tried to keep the worried frown off of his face. "I'm just…cold cases. To keep my mind busy. Have you gone and seen Shi…Kudo…yet?"

Kaito shook his head. "I just popped in to tell him I was home. He's in your study. I thought I would come see you first." Kaito gave a little shrug and a suggestive smile. "You know…. Ready for bed?"

Saguru blinked, feeling very stupid as Kaito started to slowly and seductively peel off his shirt. "N-No," he whispered. "Not tonight."

Kaito stopped with his shirt half-way off. "Huh? What?"

"Not tonight," Saguru gulped.

"Oh. Okay." Kaito blushed, self-consciously pulling the shirt back on. "…Any…reason why? I mean…it seems like we're not getting along well since this whole mess started. You haven't been very interested in me physically. Did I do something…scratch that. I know I've done something wrong. I've been moodier than a cat in heat lately. Look. I'm really sorry, Saguru, but…I could die tomorrow, and I just wanted…you know…one last night."

With a sigh, Saguru got up and went over to the bed, sitting down and ridding himself of his shirt. "Do as you wish."

Kaito picked the t-shirt back up and gently flung it at his mate. "Put your clothes back on, Guru, and lie down."

With a raised eyebrow Saguru did as instructed.

Kaito curled up next to his boyfriend, putting his head on Saguru's chest and pulling up the covers. "Just hold me…okay?"

"Okay," Saguru whispered into Kaito's unruly hair. "I'm sorry, Dove."

Kaito just laughed softly. "Don't be. I know that I selfishly drag you through hell most days. This isn't about me now, Saguru. This is about you. This is about me saying goodbye."

"Don't say goodbye." Saguru was barely holding back the tears. He was rubbed emotionally raw lately. "Just say: 'Ittekimasu'. 'I'll go and come back'. And then do so. Go and then come back to me. There's no need to say goodbye."

"I have to," Kaito insisted. "They always say afterwards, 'I never got to say goodbye'. My dad…my dad, to my knowledge, never said goodbye. Not to me…not to my mom…I don't want to be like that. I want to say goodbye."

"Then say it tomorrow," Saguru hissed, letting the tears roll. "You came in here saying how you were all prepared for pulling this off tomorrow. Where's all of that confidence now? There's no need to say goodbye, if you're going to survive."

"Just in case," Kaito returned softly in a bit of a pout, as if he'd been scolded.

"Don't say goodbye. Just tell me that you love me. That's more important anyway," Saguru mumbled.

"I love you," Kaito whispered, repeating it until Saguru drifted off to sleep.

…

Shinichi was still awake once Saguru had fallen asleep, and Shinichi was more than up for one last night.

"Will you do something for me?" Kaito whispered, looking a little sad.

"Anything," Shinichi vowed, still coming down from the high.

"Saguru. Take care of Saguru," Kaito struggled to get the words out. "He's…"

"Falling apart," Shinichi finished, expression turning grave. "He's used to shoving all of his feelings down, and now he's feeling too much all at once. Poor guy's been under a lot of stress and pressure lately. He's coming apart."

"Y-Yeah." Kaito's eyelashes fluttered. "You've…been paying pretty close attention to him, haven't you?"

Shinichi shrugged it off. "Not in particular. It's just a detective thing, Kai-chan. You notice these things."

"No. You two…you've been acting off just recently." Kaito's eyes narrowed. "Is there something…something going on between you?"

Shinichi laughed. "That would be a resounding no. Look, Kaito, the other day, I was thinking about what you said, about wanting to try a threesome, so I kissed him as an experiment. It was God-awful, and we both thought so. The only way anything would happen between the two of us is if _you_ wanted it to happen for your viewing pleasure. Hakuba and I are not an item. He's my friend. And he's going through some tough stuff, so I worry about him. He needs someone to be there for him, and I'm that person. Nothing more, Kaito. He told me that what happens between the two of you is 'sacred'. Don't worry. There's a zero percent chance that that guy will ever backstab you."

Kaito nodded, processing this new and shocking information. "You swear that nothing's happening between you two?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Shinichi swore solemnly. "I prefer brunettes."

"Because you're a narcissist," Kaito laughed, smiling softly. "Okay…. If anything happens to me, Shin-chan, please…I'm leaving Saguru to you."

Shinichi nodded. "Nothing's going to happen to you. But I'll take care of Saguru anyway."

Kaito leaned in with a smile, taking Shinichi's lips in a soft kiss. "Thank you. And I'm glad you have so much faith in me."

"I just decided that, for once, I'm going to leave logic behind and just believe in magic." Shinichi shrugged. "I think it's like when people get desperate and start praying to God, even though they've never believed before. I'm desperate, so I'm just going to let it all go and believe. I've done everything I can. I've made every possible contribution that I could, and now it's up to you."

"How can you believe in me like that?" Kaito chuckled as they shared another kiss. "I'm the most egotistical, self-assured person I know, and not even I believe in me like you do."

Shinichi blushed, knowing that he was about to spew cheesy romanticism. "What I believe in is your love for me. You've shown me proof of the strength of your love, Kaito, and I believe that bond that we share is strong enough to bring you home to me. You love me enough to live for me. You won't give up. Tomorrow night, you're going to do everything in your power to come back to me alive. That's what I believe in, Kuroba Kaito—the strength of our love."

Kaito was silent for a minute, just staring at Shinichi, not quite believing what he'd heard.

After nearly a full minute had past, Kaito finally responded. "I don't know whether I should laugh because that was the most corny, cheesy thing I've ever heard or if I should be crying because that's one of the most romantic, touching things I think you've ever said to me. I think I might have to settle for kissing you so passionately that they have to spray us with a fire-hose to cool us off. God I love you, Kudo Shinichi."

Shinichi couldn't even get a response in before Kaito tackled him, kissing him desperately.

…

The first thing Saguru was aware of was the sound of a steady heartbeat and the feeling of a chest raising and falling beneath his head. There was also the scent of…cinnamon?

It took the detective a few seconds to piece the clues together, but he eventually realized that the person he was using as a pillow was not, in fact, either of the Kuroba Kaitos.

Saguru jerked awake, waking Shinichi in the process.

"I'm up. I swear," Shinichi mumbled, still out of it.

"S-Sorry." Saguru blushed. "I hadn't meant to invade your personal space, Kudo. You're…not the brunette I'd expected to wake up next to."

"No worries," Shinichi yawned, unconsciously inching closer to Saguru in search of body heat. And then it clicked: "Where's Kaito?" Shinichi gasped, sitting straight up.

Saguru searched his room for any sign of the magician. Finding none, he shrugged. "Probably downstairs eating. We've no reason to worry about him until he attempts his crazy, death-defying stunt tonight."

"That's right," Shinichi sighed in relief, settling back down into the covers. It was quiet a moment until Shinichi opened one eye to peek up at Saguru. "Hey. You doing okay?"

Saguru shook his head sadly. "Shinichi, I'm all out of sorts. I couldn't even tell you which way was up."

"Lie down," Shinichi urged, pulling the blonde so that his head was back on Shinichi's chest. "That's up," he whispered, pointing at the ceiling with one hand and tussling Saguru's hair with the other. "Now tell me what you want to do tomorrow."

"T-Tomorrow?" Saguru was completely lost. That seemed to be happening too often for his liking lately.

"Yeah. Tomorrow. It's going to be Saturday, right? I'm losing track of my days. I think it's Saturday, so there won't be any school. What do you want to do tomorrow, Ru?" Shinichi mumbled sleepily into Saguru's hair.

The blonde's face turned fuchsia at the intimate contact and overly-familiar pet name. "I…I'll probably be helping to plan a funeral between throwing myself into my work on cold cases and eating all the absolute rubbish I can get my hands on."

"No," Shinichi chuckled. "Kaito's gonna be fine. What do you _want_ to do tomorrow, Ru? We could sleep in, lounge around the house all day, stay in our pajamas, watch TV, eat junk food…what do you _want_ to do tomorrow?"

"…I want…to go to the arcade with you and Kaito. Then I want to have lunch at a little café and do some window shopping at the mall. In the evening, I want to make dinner together and snuggle in a pile like puppies in front of the TV," Saguru whispered.

"There ya go. Just think about that, Ru. Tomorrow's going to be a lot of fun, so you just have to make it through today, okay?"

"Thank you, Shinichi," Saguru chuckled, affectionately touching his nose to the underside of Shinichi's chin.

"Welcome," Shinichi laughed back. "You know, when you do that, it reminds me of a similar thing that puppies do. It's cute. You're cute."

Saguru grumbled something rude before audibly announcing that he could and would bite, if the teasing should continue.

Kaito stifled a laugh, not wanting his boyfriends to know that he had been eavesdropping on their conversation from the doorway. He found that he quite enjoyed watching Saguru and Shinichi's bromance.

"You're blushing, aren't you?" Shinichi continued to tease, regardless of Saguru's warnings.

With a snort, Saguru turned his head and nipped Shinichi's throat.

"Ow," the older detective whined, laughing at the fact that he'd actually been bitten. "Ru, what am I going to tell Kaito when he sees someone else's teeth marks on my neck? He'll think I'm cheating on him!"

"Tell him you were attacked by a poor dog after you ruthlessly poked him with a stick," Saguru retorted.

"You are a lot like a dog, aren't you?" Shinichi mused. "What breed of dog do you think you would be?"

"Golden Retriever," Kaito announced, finally making his presence known as he strode across the room and pounced on the two sleepy teens. "Guru's a Golden Retriever. They're beautiful, smart dogs…real hard workers too…loyal, loving…fits Guru to a T." Kaito curled up around Saguru, letting his head rest on top of the blonde's, right next to Shinichi's.

"That sounds about right," Shinichi agreed, giving Kaito's forehead a good morning kiss.

"What's Shinichi then?" Saguru inquired, just enjoying the sensation of being warm and safe, in their own little world.

"Basset Hound…or a Beagle. Some kind of hunting dog. Very smart, determined, and absolutely single-minded when he's on the scent," Kaito teased, limbs entangling around Saguru like a vine.

"And what are you?" Shinichi raised an eyebrow at the magician.

"Jack Russell Terrier," Kaito quickly responded.

"He bounces off of the walls like one, doesn't he?" Saguru chuckled.

"Yeah, he really does," Shinichi tittered back.

"I want a dog," Kaito remarked offhandedly. "Can we get a dog? I might not be responsible or female enough to have a baby, but I can have a puppy, right? Guru?"

"Why are you asking me?" Saguru muttered.

"Because I have a feeling you're going to say no and give some kind of logical explanation. I'm asking you _first_," Kaito outlined his plan. "That way, when you say no, I can give Shinichi the puppy-dog eyes and beg and still get what I want. The puppy-dog eyes don't work as well on you, Guru."

"Is he implying that I'm easy to manipulate?" Shinichi pouted.

"Yes. Because you are," Saguru snorted fondly. "You eat out of the palm of his hand."

"…Good point," Shinichi conceded.

"Actually, I believe I'd like a dog very much." Saguru gave an unexpectedly favorable reply. "Not now, though. We have too much going on in our lives for a dog at the moment. Maybe in a few years."

"That's what you said about the babies," Kaito whined. "I wanna be pregnant _now_."

"Dove, we've discussed this," Saguru reminded.

"Yeah, yeah, about the uterus and the ovaries and the hormones and all that. You know what I think? I think the universe is sexist. I'm being discriminated against for being male," Kaito grumbled.

Shinichi just laughed as Saguru shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"So can I have a puppy now?" Kaito was suddenly back on topic.

"Nope." Saguru smirked.

"Shinichi, can I have a puppy now?" Kaito switched up his strategy.

"Nope," Shinichi giggled.

"Please?" Kaito pulled out his secret weapon: the puppy-dog eyes.

"Ru, help! He's using his mind control powers!" The older detective tightened his hold on the blonde, burying his face in Saguru's hair.

"You're both silly," Saguru scolded, still smiling. "There will be no puppy until we have our own residence."

"Drat. Foiled again." Kaito snapped his fingers, pretending to be discouraged. "I'll get you next time, my pretties, and a little dog too."

"Your English accent is deplorable." Saguru rolled his eyes.

"Well, you know what? …Your face." Kaito stuck out his tongue.

Saguru looked in confusion up at Shinichi (only this was a little hard to do, since he was still using the other detective as a pillow). "Shinichi, what does one even say to that?"

"I believe you reply 'Well, _your_ face'," Shinichi advised.

"I'm not going to say that." Saguru deadpanned. "Can I designate you my stand-in for frivolous, childish arguments?"

"Tag me in, Brother. I've got your back," Shinichi snickered.

"Tag. You're it." Saguru closed his eyes with an amused grin clinging to his lips.

"_Your_ face, Kaito," Shinichi countered dramatically.

Kaito's eyes widened, and he put his hand over his heart like he had received a mortal blow. "Oh no you didn't."

"Oh yes I did," Shinichi returned, a triumphant smirk shining on his face.

"It is _on_," Kaito warned. "I hope you're ready for this."

"Bring it," Shinichi challenged.

"…You know what? _MY_ face." Kaito raised his eyebrows in a look that begged, "What now?"

"Is gorgeous," Saguru chuckled, reaching up to pinch Kaito's cheek.

"Thanks. I like yours too." Kaito leaned in and gave Saguru's left temple a quick smooch. "Shin-chan's got a pretty nice one too. We're a regular bunch of hotties, aren't we?" Kaito maneuvered to give his other boyfriend a quick kiss as well.

"I've always thought so." Shinichi shrugged, happily nipping Kaito back.

"Right. Now that we've filled our quota of acting like real teenagers for the day…" Saguru slowly peeled away from the other two and sat up. "Shall we get some breakfast? It's more like lunch now."

"We can have brunch." Kaito shrugged, propping himself up with one arm. "I got up early and ate already, but I'm hungry again. Sorry about turning off your alarm. I wanted you guys to have the chance to sleep in. You were both snoozing so soundly when I got up, I didn't want to disturb you with my tossing and turning, and I wanted you guys to be well rested, so…"

"You wanted to be alone," Shinichi revised with a knowing grin. "That's why you didn't want to wake us."

Kaito smiled sheepishly.

"Which we completely understand," Saguru added. "Although, I am very grateful for the additional sleep. I seem to have needed it. I'm feeling a lot better now."

"Good," Shinichi and Kaito chorused.

"Thank you both." Saguru reached out touching each of the other two on the shoulder.

"We're here for you," Shinichi assured. "That's how a team works. It means you're never alone. Ever."

Shinichi held Saguru's gaze for a minute, the two of them coming to an understanding before Saguru nodded with a smile and looked away.

"That's right, isn't it?"

Kaito made a mental note of the private interaction that had taken place, but he didn't say anything. He didn't pretend to understand what went on between his detectives. Sometimes it felt like they were in their own world, communicating in their own language. Kaito could only comprehend the meanings on the surface level, but there was something deep, beyond that being conveyed…like a promise between the two or something of that sort.

Shaking the feeling off and pushing the thoughts aside to be processed later, Kaito grinned. "Let's go get food, guys. I've got a lot I want to do today before the heist, so we'd better get a start on the day."

"What all did you want to do today, Kai-chan?" Shinichi asked as he forced himself out of bed.

"Cuddle and watch movies. And eat Baaya's food." The magician shrugged.

"He's so easy to please," Saguru noted, following Shinichi's lead.

"My needs are simple and few." Kaito put on a full-toothed grin.

"_Today_ anyway," Shinichi sniggered sarcastically.

"Quite," Saguru agreed.

"Hey," Kaito pouted.

…

Mikau: Needless to say, I had fun writing this chapter. It was good to finally have some fresh inspiration for this fic. What did you guys think? Did you have a favorite scene or a favorite line? In other news, I'm contemplating writing another chapter to that one-shot fic I released last week "Chained at the Ankle". Anyway, thanks so much for reading guys, and I thank you in advance for your reviews. You guys always have such great comments. Have a fabulous week!


	72. The Final Heist

Mikau: Hey there everyone! Thanks for tuning in yet again! Today is the much anticipated (at least I think so) final heist. I've also finally got the next chapter of Roses up along with a second chapter to Chained at the Ankle (KaiShin) and a new fic called Caught Up In You (also KaiShin). Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter. You guys really push me to keep going even when I'm busy with real life. Thanks so much for your support: Bunnyz-chan, MeitanteiRose, GeekyGenius, Katherine Apollo Karma, and Kirazu Haruka!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd know for sure who the heck Subaru-san really is already. As of yet, I'm still not quite caught up on the anime, am further behind on the manga, and am just enjoying the fan theories.

…

The Final Heist

"Are you sure you have everything?" Shinichi asked, peeking around Saguru, shoving the blonde a little in the process.

"And are you positive you'll be able to swim in that vest with all that heavy equipment?" Saguru gently pushed Shinichi back.

"Your oxygen mask. Do you have your oxygen mask?" Shinichi nudged a little harder to get closer to Kaito.

"And you're certain you can move properly while wearing all that?" Saguru elbowed his fellow detective in the ribs.

"How about your radio walky-talky thing?" Shinichi leaned into the blonde with his shoulder.

"Do you mind?" Saguru hissed before turning back to Kaito. "And _how_ many times do they plan on letting you get shot before Miss Monroe takes out the glider?"

"Yeah, I do," Shinichi growled back. "What about your—"

"—Yes, Moms," Kaito sighed, rolling his eyes at his panic-stricken boyfriends. "Look." He took one of each of their hands in his own, looking them both in the eyes. "Everything is fine. Everything is going to be fine. I have everything I need. I know the plan. _They_ all know the plan. Everything is going to go according to plan, but if it doesn't, we have backup plans. We have backup plans for the backup plans. I'm as safe as I can possibly be, guys, so just try to breathe, okay?"

"Okay," Shinichi reluctantly agreed.

"Saguru?" Kaito eyed his blonde.

Hakuba looked away. "I'm still not okay with this."

Kaito chuckled, pressing a kiss to Saguru's cheek. "You and my mother both. She flipped when I told her about what was going on, but…try not to worry yourself grey prematurely, Guru. I'm gonna go and come back to you guys. I promise."

Kaito leaned in and gave Shinichi a kiss as well. "I'm not going to die. I won't leave you guys…but…if I get hurt and am down for the count for a while…" He took his one hand holding on to Shinichi and his other holding Saguru and pressed them together so that the two detectives were now holding hands. "I want you two to take care of each other while I'm out of commission…until I can be with you again. Okay?"

"I swear," Shinichi whispered, squeezing Saguru's hand.

Saguru looked between Shinichi and Kaito, looking a little lost before finally nodding. "Don't make me wait too long," Saguru struggled to get out as he held back tears.

Kaito gently cupped Saguru's cheek, kissing his blonde softly. "I love you."

"I love you more than anything," Saguru vowed.

Kaito turned and did the same to Shinichi. "I love you."

"I know you do. Remember? I'm banking on your love to get you back to me safe and sound. In the meantime…" Shinichi put on a brave smile as he pulled Saguru closer, nodding to the blonde. "I'll take care of Ru, so you just go, do your mission, and don't worry about this guy."

"Thanks. Back in a bit, Shin-chan…Guru." With a wink and a playful salute, Kaito turned and trotted off before he could no longer keep it together. Honestly, he was afraid. He was terrified that he might never see his detectives again. He was worried about what would become of Saguru if he did die, and he was worried about how that all would affect Shinichi…the strain and stress of having to be the strong one.

Kaito took a deep, controlled breath once he was out of sight. He exhaled, letting it all go. What he had said before was all true. He had everything he needed. The plan was fool-proof and even then full of safety nets. He was going to be fine. All he had to do was follow the plan.

"_Make entrance, avoid Taskforce, avoid bullets, show off the fake Pandora in the moonlight, take off, avoid bullets until over the river, take some hits, slip on oxygen mask, and swim. Swim. For the love of those two detectives, swim. Make it to the boat in under ten minutes. Go home and convince detectives to have a threesome,"_ Kaito mentally rehearsed.

"Ya ready, Runt?" Kei called softly.

Kaito nodded.

…

Meanwhile, Saguru had a death-grip on Shinichi's hand.

Shinichi squeezed back reassuringly. "What all did you tell me you wanted to do tomorrow?" he reminded his friend.

Saguru nodded, turning to face Shinichi and letting his head drop to rest on the other teen's shoulder.

"It's okay," Shinichi whispered, wrapping his free arm around the bigger teen. "I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. We're gonna make it through this toget—ugh." Shinichi suddenly winced, leaning heavily on Saguru for support as he doubled over in pain.

"Sh-Shinichi?" Saguru pulled back, shrieking in terror. "Shinichi, are you alright?! What's the matter?"

"N-Nothing," Shinichi lied through gritted teeth. "I'm…I'm changing back."

"What?" Saguru's mouth dropped open. "Wh-What do we do?"

"Nothing." Shinichi waved it off, getting steady on his feet once again. "The transformation back could still be a few hours off from now. That right now was like a contraction. I…had the first one a couple hours ago. It should be at least an hour before I have another. They'll probably get worse and have shorter periods of time between them, but there's nothing really we can do to stop them or make them hurt less. The transformation's going to happen when it's going to happen. Let's focus on Kaito's mission first. We can worry about me shrinking back permanently when the time comes."

"You're sure there's nothing I can do?" Saguru frowned deeply.

Shinichi gave his friend a small half-smile. "The only thing you can do for me, Ru, is try to keep it together. Hang in there for me. Lean on me for support, but don't have a breakdown on me until we have an actual dead boyfriend on our hands. Just take it one minute at a time."

"Okay," Saguru finally agreed. "One minute at a time. I can do that. I'm bloody well an expert at it."

"Good. Thanks, Ru." Shinichi's smile strengthened. "Now let's go. Kiku-chan's got the car waiting to take us down to the boat at the docks. Curtain's in thirty minutes, and we wouldn't want to miss any of our boyfriend's final show, would we?"

…

"You two make a cute couple," Chrisy teased mirthlessly as she paced like a mentally unstable leopard.

They were out on the deck in the middle of the Teimuzu. Shinichi and Saguru huddled together, sharing a blanket. Shinichi had his arm wrapped around the currently very vulnerable Saguru. Saguru rested his head on Shinichi's shoulder, letting a hand lay on Shinichi's lap, motionless, like a ragdoll. Shinichi held Saguru's hand with his free one.

"Kaito…wasn't just talking about if he were to get injured," Saguru mumbled into Shinichi's neck.

The warm breath felt nice, but its sudden absence made the brunette feel even more chilled than before.

"…he meant for you to care for me in the event of his death, didn't he?" Saguru continued.

"I'm going to kiss you if you keep it up," Shinichi warned.

Saguru shuddered.

"He meant exactly what he said," Shinichi firmly insisted, knowing in his own heart that it wasn't true.

"Here he comes," Chrisy breathed, picking up her rifle and getting into position.

Suddenly Saguru was on his feet and at the railing, searching the sky for a glimpse of white. "Where?!"

Shinichi was unceremoniously tugged along behind since Saguru was still gripping onto Shinichi's hand like his only lifeline.

"He looks fine," Saguru noted, chewing like a chipmunk on his bottom lip and the inside of his cheek.

"Yeah. His evasive maneuvers are spot on tonight." Shinichi nodded, appreciating Kaito's abilities.

"They're too good," Chrisy hummed. "He's got to let them land something before I can take him down gently."

"There!" Shinichi pointed out. "It looks like one just went through the wing of the glider."

"Oh, God, Kaito," Saguru breathed.

"Don't watch," Shinichi whispered, physically making Saguru look away.

"It's my duty to watch," Saguru argued, turning back just as a bullet hit Kaito square in the chest, sending the thief barreling.

Both boys gasped, grabbing on to each other and holding tightly.

A collective sigh was heaved as Kaito came out of the abysmal spin and continued on his scheduled flight path. Their relief, however, was short-lived. Another bullet appeared to hit Kaito in the shoulder, and the glider slumped, tipping to one side.

Saguru started muttering Hail Marys under his breath as Shinichi held his own.

The glider recovered as Kaito gritted his teeth through the pain and got the controls steadied.

"One more, Kiddo," Chrisy muttered into her headset. "One more good blow, and then I'll drop you. Ready?"

Apparently Kaito had answered in the affirmative because Chrisy prepared to take the shot after that.

And then everything was still. It felt like an eternity, but Saguru knew it had only been twenty-five point six seconds.

The detectives gasped in unison as another shot hit Kaito right in the chest. A split second after that, Chrisy took her own shot, knocking the glider out of the sky. Saguru and Shinichi watched in horror as Kaito's body plummeted into the river, disappearing beneath the depths.

Chrisy slowly exhaled all of the air from her lungs before standing and coming over to join the detective duo. "Ten minutes. Start worrying after ten minutes," she advised. "If he's any son of Kuroba Touichi's, he'll make it within ten, so…don't worry until then."

Shinichi nodded, looking down at Conan's wristwatch. Saguru had already started counting in his head the instant that Kaito hit the water.

"We changed the plan up a little bit. All he has to do is swim now. We painted a black suit with water soluble paint, so the white will come off without him having to do anything. He doesn't have to change clothes except for getting the hat, monocle, and cape off. He was able to do that in practice just fine. It should be fine."

"He has enough air?" Shinichi confirmed.

Chrisy bit her lip. "That we worry about once he exceeds fifteen minutes."

"What were we thinking? That water is frigid," Saguru hissed between prayers.

"He's got a wetsuit, and we made sure that he's insulated enough," Chrisy assured. "He did fine in practice."

"Yes, but you didn't actually _shoot_ him before he completed the mission during practice," Saguru snapped. "He could be seriously injured for all that we know. What if that bullet that hit him in the shoulder hit his flesh instead of the vest? And even if all of the bullets hit the vest, it still hurts. The vest mitigates but doesn't totally negate the damage. You still get hit with the shock waves, and…and…it could have broken a rib that punctured a lung, and he could be bleeding out internally or suffocating right now!"

"Ru, shh. It's okay," Shinichi insisted, tightening his hold on his co-boyfriend. "Don't think like that. I know it's hard, but…look, I've been shot while wearing a vest before. I know how much it hurts and what kind of damage can be done, but don't forget that Kaito's kept going before after actually being shot without a vest. Believe in him. He's tough. He can take it. We've just got to believe."

Saguru's head dropped to Shinichi's shoulder once more as he gazed despondently out at the placid surface of the river where he had seen his beloved vanish. It was unnervingly still. "Do you really believe he'll be alright?"

"You've met him, right?" Shinichi chuckled. "I believe in him. I believe in his ability to defy all logic and the rules of nature and physics. He's going to be fine."

After three minutes, Shinichi's resolve to be optimistic began to fade, and he pulled Saguru closer to comfort himself just as much as the other detective. They started to shiver as the unforgivingly icy March wind picked up, and Shinichi bit back a yelp as another wave of shrinking pains nearly bowled him over.

As they reached the six-minute mark, silent tears slid down Saguru's cheeks, but Shinichi would not allow himself to cry. He was strong; he had to be…for _all_ of their sakes. As the waves lapped up against the side, rocking their small boat, they continued to keep vigil to the bleak and desolate sounds of the water and the wind.

"He's still got a full minute left," Chrisy remarked nine minutes into their collective personal hell. "We shouldn't worry yet. He's still got a full minute." Despite the thin veil of confidence surrounding her words, the detectives could tell that the woman was beginning to get concerned.

"How long did it take him in practice?" Shinichi inquired softly, biting his bottom lip.

Chrisy copied the gesture. "Well, in practice…never this long, but Goldilocks is right; we never shot him. Kiddo and I…and our analysts too…mutually agreed that it could feasibly take him maybe even eleven minutes to do it for real, but…but he said he would do it in ten or less, so…"

Shinichi nodded, looking at Conan's watch.

"Nine minutes, seven point five seconds," Saguru supplied.

"…This was a stupid plan," Chrisy muttered, looking down at the pitch black water. "I should have drugged him, professionally bound him, and confined him in some foreign country for all this. I should have sent in one of my people instead. Kaito was never supposed to be a part of all this crap. Toi-chan…Toi-chan would have protected him better."

Chrisy sighed heavily before looking up at the detectives and smiling weakly. "If Kei were here, he'd be telling me that Toi-chan's dead and that Kiddo's a big boy, perfectly capable of taking care of himself." Her smile grew, becoming more genuine. "Which is true. You know, when he was little, he had trouble pronouncing 'Kurisshi'. He called me 'Kurushi', and that quickly became 'Kurushimi-chan'. Toi-chan put an end to that real fast, but…I doubt Kiddo remembers that, and I've yet to tease him about it. There's still a lot of things I have to tease him about…a lot of things I have to tell him…about his father…about life, so…he can't be dead, right?"

Shinichi nodded, sending her a reassuring grin. "Right. He still owes me a coffee for that time that I jinxed him…and a kiss for the double-jinx after that. Dead men don't usually pay up, so…he can't be dead."

Chrisy and Shinichi both surreptitiously snuck glances at Saguru, but the Brit didn't seem likely to join in any time soon.

"Hey, Ru. I seem to remember someone telling me that you and Kaito made a bet. At the ball? Don't you still technically owe him twenty-four hours of doing anything he wants you to do?" Shinichi helpfully reminded. "He wouldn't kick the bucket before collecting, now would he?"

This got a very small chuckle out of the blonde. "Yes and no. I bet he couldn't make me fall in love with him at the ball. I was already in love with him at the time. Does it count if you fall in love with the same person all over again?"

"I don't know. We'll have to ask him," Shinichi snickered.

"Then…I suppose he can't be dead yet, can he?" With a sigh, Saguru straightened up and cast a pleading glance at the river, eyes begging: "Give him back. Please. Please give him back."

Just at that moment, there was a clatter and a sharp intake of air coming from the starboard side of the ship.

"Time!" a voice rasped between coughs.

"Kaito!" the three shouted in a mix of alarm and relief, and they ran to him, helping to pull him over the side of the boat. Each of them demanded various things all at once to the effect of "Are you okay?!", "Where does it hurt?!", "Are you unharmed?!", and "What do you need for us to do?!"

Ignoring their concern, Kaito glared and demanded again, "Time!" through wheezes and coughs.

Chrisy smirked for a split second at his determination, but her expression quickly turned solemn, and she shook her head sadly. "Ten 'o six."

"Dammit!" Kaito cursed before collapsing onto the deck and panting, trying to get his pain, adrenaline, breathing, and heart rate under control.

Saguru raised an eyebrow at the pair. "I am missing something. What's this about time?"

"Nothing." Chrisy shrugged it off, reaching for her radio to, among other things, call the medic up to check on Kaito before she signaled some of her crew to release the recently deceased Kid stand-in into the river.

"How long I was in there," Kaito muttered, starting to remove the outer layers of his clothing and equipment. "From the time I hit the water to the time I touched the side of the boat."

"Nine minutes, fifty-six point seven seconds," Saguru reported.

Kaito's eyes snapped open and he stared intently at his boyfriend. "Seriously? You're sure?"

Saguru frowned. "I counted every torturous second myself from the time your body went under to the millisecond I knew you were safe. I am absobloodylutely positive. Nine minutes. Fifty-six point seven seconds."

"Yes!" Kaito exclaimed but immediately thought better of it as his poor bruised ribs protested. "Owowowowow!" After getting the pain under control, he turned very slightly to glare at Chrisy (who was pointedly avoiding his gaze by pretending that she had all sorts of official things to do like getting the police to start dragging the river for the body and all that).

"What's going on?" Shinichi (who was now breathing a little heavily himself while clutching his chest) looked between the two parties in suspicion. "Care to explain?"

Chrisy sighed, putting away the radio and turning to look at Kaito. "Oh, alright. I lied. Stupid Goldilocks is right…it was under ten minutes."

Kaito smirked through the pain as the medical team came to his aide.

"What's going on?" Shinichi repeated as sweat began to gather in droplets on his skin.

Chrisy face-palmed. "I'm an idiot, and Toi-chan is probably rolling over in his grave right now. I may have agreed to let Kiddo officially join the Special Interests Unit if he could complete his first mission in under ten minutes."

"You. What." Saguru tried very hard not to growl.

"Yeah." Chrisy sighed again. "I'm an idiot. Congratulations, Kiddo. You pass. Welcome to the SIU."

"No. Veto!" Saguru protested. "You've plainly told me before that you kill people for a living—"

"—Among other things," Chrisy grumbled. "Like exposing and eradicating evil."

"The point is that Kaito does _not_ kill people," Saguru argued.

The spy shrugged. "Toi-chan never killed anyone. He may have incapacitated the hell out of them, but he never killed anyone. Why can't I teach Kiddo to be the same way?"

"No. You're going to give me a heart condition letting him go off on insane, deadly missions!" This time Saguru really did growl.

"I'd never let him do anything too dangerous," Chrisy countered.

"You let him do this!" Saguru made a sweeping gesture with his arm, turning her attention to their surroundings.

She pursed her lips. "Okay, you have a good point, but I gave him my word and already went over the paperwork with my handlers."

"Well, forget your word and undo it! This is the love of my life you're talking about here!" Seeing that he was getting nowhere very quickly, the blonde turned to enlist the help of his co-boyfriend. "Shinichi! Shinichi, tell her that…Shinichi?" Saguru's righteous fury instantaneously cooled at the sight before him.

Kudo Shinichi was suddenly looking deathly ill. His skin had gone a most unflattering shade of pale yellow, akin to aged candle wax. Sweat covered his body in droplets like dew on the grass, and his teeth were gritted, eyes screwed shut, nose crinkled, face contorted in pain.

"Shinichi!" Saguru rushed to his friend's side just as the other teen dropped to his knees. Saguru steadied Shinichi and helped ease him down to the ground.

"Shin-chan?!" Kaito yelped, twisting in a way he really shouldn't with his injuries to see past his captors (the medics treating him). "Guru, what's wrong?!" Kaito began to struggle, trying to get to his feet and to Shinichi.

"Stay there," Saguru ordered firmly before forcing his voice into a more reassuring tone. "He's changing back. It's perfectly fine, Kaito. I'll take care of him, so let the medics tend to you." Knowing his beloved was headstrong and unlikely to listen, he turned to Chrisy. "Miss Monroe, if you'd please see to Kaito?"

She nodded and left Shinichi to Saguru, trusting the other blonde to take care of the situation.

"Is there anything I can do?" Saguru turned his attention back to Shinichi.

The other detective was regrettably unable to answer. Shinichi opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. He reached up and gripped Saguru's sleeve as his head whipped back and forth as he suffered through the transformation.

Saguru did what he could to keep Shinichi still so that the great detective wouldn't inadvertently hurt himself as he writhed. He took Shinichi's hand and tried whispering soothing words. It was then that he noticed Conan's watch.

Saguru had seen the watch used on a few occasions, and Shinichi had explained the workings of this particular gadget to him.

Suddenly Saguru had an idea. "Shinichi…would you rather sleep through the shrinking process?"

Shinichi didn't seem to answer at first, but eventually he managed to nod in an exaggerated fashion.

Without waiting for further consent, Saguru aimed the watch and pressed the button.

"Goodnight, sweet prince," he muttered, in commemoration of his friend's final moments as "Kudo Shinichi" before he was confined in the prison known as "Edogawa Conan" for the remainder of his years.

"Shin-chan!" Kaito (who had somehow managed to slip away from the medical team and Chrisy) cried as he hobbled over.

"He's asleep," Saguru explained. "It seemed like he was in terrible pain, but…I used the watch on him."

Kaito nodded, sinking down next to Saguru. "Good," he hummed as he lovingly reached out and touched Shinichi, mopping up the sweat, pushing the detective's bangs out of his face.

"Does that white…steam? smoke? always come off of his body like that?" Chrisy held back a gasp, not wanting to alarm Kaito.

The former thief nodded. "It's an ugly, scary process."

It was quiet on deck while everyone huddled together as Shinichi shrank. The medical team was able to continue treating Kaito now that he was obediently sitting still, nestled up against Saguru who was supporting the majority of Shinichi's rapidly decreasing weight. Soon, all that was left was a child's body in Saguru's arms.

"I'm glad I'm not dead," Kaito whispered.

Saguru looked to his left and saw that tears were trailing like banners down Kaito's cheeks as the magician smiled softly down at Conan.

"I'm glad you're not dead too," Saguru returned, leaning in and placing a butterfly kiss on Kaito's temple. He carefully wrapped an arm around Kaito's shoulders, trying to stay out of the medics' way.

Before they knew it, they were back at the docks, and Kei had the car waiting to take them home to the Hakuba Manor.

Chrisy made sure the three of them were securely loaded into the backseat before she turned sadly to her fiancé. "…You okay? …I mean…I know you're not really sensitive or sentimental, but…it doesn't feel right…not having a body to bury…cremate…whatever. I…I just…I'm sorry the casket has to be empty."

Kei shrugged. "Nii-san's death wuzn't 'n vain. He…He died doin' 'is job out 'n th' field protectin' people, and I think he'd be happy t' know that even afterwards 'is body was used t' save lives from _them_…to save my future little brother-in-law."

Chrisy smiled and nodded. "He was a man of few words, but…he had a good heart. I could always tell. Eiichi was a good man and a good soldier…. It was…really hard…doctoring his body up as a stand-in for Kid's and then putting him in the river like that."

"Nii-san wouldn't care." Kei shrugged, reaching out and taking Chrisy's hand. "It's okay. He'd be okay. I'm okay."

She leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek. "Yeah…well…let me know if…if it's ever not…if you're ever not."

He nodded, a very small smile coming to his lips. "We should get th' kids home. They've had a rough night."

They got in the car, and suddenly the atmosphere felt tense.

Kaito seemed to be struggling to find words, and Saguru looked like he didn't know where he should be focusing his gaze. They were both fidgeting unnaturally so.

"Yes, th' body we used fer the Kid stand-in was my brother," Kei finally broke the awkward silence. "An' no, ya don't have t' say anything."

"…Thank you," Kaito responded several minutes later once he had finally found the words.

Silence reined again for the remainder of the car ride, but this time it was comfortable and sleepy.

"Just rest tonight," Chrisy instructed as they dropped the teens off in front of the manor. "Kiddo, make sure to do what the medical team told you. I'll come by tomorrow morning first thing to brief you…give you instructions. The hard part isn't exactly over yet, but just rest tonight. We'll worry about everything else in the morning."

The two conscious teens nodded, slowly turning to trudge into the house and up the stairs to the guestroom. Conan woke up, and they exchanged a few words, but not much was said as the three got ready to slip under the covers. The air felt too thick to breathe much less use to speak about the future and the gravity of the situation at hand.

Instead, chaste kisses were exchanged, light yet meaningful touches, and looks that spoke volumes more than they could hope to express with feeble words at the moment. Their message was clearly conveyed, though.

Their kisses and touches and looks vowed, "I love you. Until death does part the five of us, and even then for an eternity more, I love you. I'm here, and we'll face tomorrow together." Tacked on at the end was a sheepish, "But, for now, let's just sleep."

Conan, Kaito, and Saguru carefully piled into bed, cautious of Kaito's wounds. They snuggled as close as they could like newborn puppies seeking warmth and comfort, and, surprisingly, they quickly drifted off to sleep.

…

Mikau: Well. Now the stressful "Is Kaito going to die?!" part is over and we'll start winding down and wrapping things up, tying up the loose ends, reevaluating and redefining relationships, and getting the boys ready to go off to college. Sounds good, yes? The college and marriage and jobs and babies stuff will all happen in the part two of CTM that I'm planning, but, just so you know, that's where we're headed now. So how was the chapter? There are a few parts that I really wish had turned out better, but, for the most part, I'm happy with it. What did you think? Thanks so much for always reading and reviewing guys! I look forward to seeing you again next chapter, but take care until then!


	73. Getting It Back Together

Mikau: Hey there, guys! Thanks for tuning in this week as well. Good news! I finally got my act together on Roses like I promised. No update this week, but I should have a chapter for you next week. As for HP…well, we're working on it. Thanks for your patience, and please enjoy this CTM chapter and the Chained at the Ankle update in the meantime! Thanks so much to all of the reviewers from last chapter: SenkoHasegawa, Bunnyz-chan, GeekyGenius, Katherine Apollo Karma, MeitanteiRose, and Kirazu Haruka! You guys are really encouraging me to keep going. We're so close!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, they'd have more trips to Kyoto because I'm homesick. I saw episode 694 the other day and started crying as soon as I saw Kyoto Station and Kyoto Tower reflecting off of it. (My brother thinks I'm crazy.) I wanna go home! T.T (My parents shake their heads at me and tell me I AM home. In America. Don't listen to them. I belong in Kyoto, I tell you.) Ahem.

…

Getting it Back Together

It took Kaito a minute to remember why he was in so much pain, but the events of the previous evening quickly returned to him. He cracked an eye open and glanced at the clock on the guestroom's nightstand.

Eight o'clock, but the room was still so dim. He could hear the soft patter of a storm blowing through outside, so he made an educated guess as to the cause of the light shortage. It was probably a cold, grey day outside.

Kaito made a mental note to stay inside—even better: in bed—for the rest of the day or so long as he could help it. He was tired of being cold and wet.

"You up?" Saguru whispered to his left. "How are you feeling?"

The right corner of Kaito's mouth turned up in a wry grin as he focused his attention on his boyfriend. "Not too bad considering. I feel a little bit like hell chewed me up, swallowed me, and spit me back out, but it could have been a lot worse. I was really lucky getting away with a few grazes and some bruised ribs."

Saguru nodded, rolling over onto his back. "Yes…I'm glad."

"How are you doing, Guru?" Kaito's wry grin softened into a fond smile.

The blonde shook his head. "I'm trying to stay positive, but…a part of me keeps worrying that they won't be fooled by our little scheme, and if they don't fall for it, they'll keep killing and trying to ferret you out. Everyone on our side is either physically or emotionally wrecked and in no condition to keep fighting. Our resources are depleted, Kaito. What are we going to do if our plan hasn't worked?"

"You worry too much." Kaito leaned in and nipped Saguru's bottom lip. "I don't want to think about stuff like that at the moment. Right now, all I want to do is feel alive, celebrate that I've been given another day, and be a teenager head over heels in love…if you know what I mean." With a suggestive wink, Kaito carefully moved around Conan to position himself on top of Saguru.

The blonde blinked stupidly for a minute before he finally _got_ it. "K-K-Kaito, you're injured!"

"I'll be fine. I'm not hurt all that bad, and, besides, those medics put some of that magical salve on my wounds, and the pain killers are still working, so…" He chuckled, leaning in and running his hands through Saguru's hair.

Kaito moved to kiss his beloved, but Saguru turned his head. "No. Not now, Dove."

"If hurting me is what you're concerned about, don't worry; I kind of like it rough, Guru," Kaito assured with a chuckle, trying to coax his mate into intimacy.

Saguru shut his eyes and shook his head sadly. "That's part of it, but…just…not now, Kaito."

"Oh." Kaito chewed on his lip, carefully dismounting, feeling awkward and displaced. "Okay. Sorry," he mumbled.

"Before you even start going on about how I don't love you anymore, I want to assure you that this is not about you," Hakuba informed, throwing an arm over his face to hide his embarrassed expression from Kaito. "This is about me and my own fears and insecurities. Bear with me for a bit, will you?"

There were a lot of things that Kaito wanted to say. Among them were: "Well, it sure feels like you don't love me anymore! You haven't wanted to touch me since all of this started!", "I hate you and your needs! What about my needs? I need love and reassurance right now, and all you're doing is pushing me away!", and "I hate it when you're vulnerable with me. I'm used to being spoiled like a little brat by you. It's hard when you need me to be mature and strong. Those are the times when I feel especially selfish and ugly."

After a full minute, Kaito quietly mumbled, "'Kay."

Kaito lightly hugged his knees to his chest, being extra cautious with his ribs. He rested his forehead on his knees and sighed, thinking, _"I feel really alone right now. I just want someone to reach out and hold me, but I can't say anything to you because you're dealing with your own crap at the moment. I wanna be childish and demand that you comfort me, but I realize that our relationship is going to crash and burn before long if I keep acting that way."_

"Saguru? I love you," Kaito whispered.

"I love you too," the Brit returned, but neither of them looked at each other.

There was silence after that as Kaito laid back down and closed his eyes. His thoughts began to chase their own tails. He pondered over and over again what he had done wrong and how he could fix things between them.

Finally, after realizing that this would accomplish nothing, Kaito sighed and turned to look at his boyfriend once more.

"Hey. You." Kaito almost winced at his tone. It was pretty close to being every bit as angry and frustrated as he felt. Rolling his eyes at himself, he tried again. "Sorry. What I meant was: Hey, Saguru?"

The blonde made a little noise of recognition.

"Is there anything I can do? I mean…what's wrong? What do you need from me?" Kaito begged. "I wanna be there for you like you've always been there for me, but I'm kind of an airhead when it comes to this stuff, so…please talk to me."

Saguru sighed, removing the arm obscuring his features and rolling onto his side to face Kaito. "Dove, I've been barely holding it together lately. I love you more than anything, and I'm so scared of losing you. Forgive me if I'm too tired and frazzled and scared to make love to you until this entire mess is over and behind us. There's nothing for you to do but wait patiently until I can get myself back together again."

"…Okay. Just…okay," Kaito whispered, rolling onto his back.

"Sorry," the Brit sighed, climbing out of bed. "I'll see you downstairs."

"Yeah," Kaito mumbled. As soon as he was sure that the door was firmly closed behind his blonde detective, Kaito cautiously transitioned onto his stomach and screamed his frustration into the pillow.

"It's going to be okay, Kai-chan," Conan assured, slowly opening his eyes.

"Shin-chan…" Kaito turned his head to cast Conan a sorrowful look.

"I don't know if you've really noticed with all the absolute crap that's been on your plate lately, but, like he said, Ru's not been doing well. You should have seen him breaking down last night—scratch that. I'm really glad you didn't see the state he was in. He'll…he'll get better soon. Just give him time, Kaito. Once he's certain that you're out of danger, he'll loosen up and be eating out of your hand just like old times. Don't worry."

"Shinichi," Kaito whimpered, pulling his little lover in to rest his head on Conan's chest.

"Hey, doesn't that hurt? Should you really be doing that with your ribs in that condition?" Conan verbally protested but rested his head on top of Kaito's, massaging the magician's scalp with his fingertips as he just enjoyed the warmth of his very much alive boyfriend.

"'M fine." Kaito's voice came out a muffled mumble against Conan's ribcage.

"No you're not," Conan whispered, gently petting his beloved's hair. "You're really suffering through this."

"It's hard being grown up," Kaito returned. "I want to be selfish and childish and spoiled."

"But you also want to be a good boyfriend," Conan argued. "You want to support Saguru and comfort him and get him through this. You have a good heart, Kaito, and you love him. You're not nearly as self-serving as you may think you are."

"Still…I don't like being strong like this…. I just want him to touch me. He won't touch me since all of this started. He feels so distant and cold, but…he wasn't that way with No1. He didn't have any trouble getting in bed with him."

"Kaito, you're getting hung up on that one instance," Conan sighed, lightly patting Kaito on the back. "Ru may not be able to sleep with you at the moment, but he touches you all the time. You're not seriously doubting his love for you, are you? He still kisses you and holds you and stares at you like some lovesick puppy. He worships you, Kaito, so just chillax already. Everything's going to be fine. We're almost out of the woods."

Kaito nodded, slowly pulling back. "Yeah. I'm being silly. I know. I know it, but…it would be so much easier if there was no conflict in relationships."

"But then they wouldn't mean as much to us," Conan added sagely.

"Yeah. Fighting for the things that are important to you just makes them even more precious." Kaito sighed, a penitent grin coming to his face as he shifted onto his back once more. "He's been as patient as a saint with me…throughout the entirety of our relationship…back when we were just friends and even more so now that we're together. He's waited for me and sat on his hands and grinned and bore it through my uncertainty about my sexuality, my love affair with you, and—God—my whining. ALL of my whining. I guess now it's my turn to be patient with him."

"Yep." Conan grinned, proud that Kaito had come to the realization himself. His magician was maturing and growing up. "Good job, Kaito."

Kaito laughed softly, giving his boyfriend a playful nip on the ear. "Thanks for being my sounding board…. How are _you_ doing, Shin-chan?"

Conan propped himself up and gazed down at his mate intently. "Kaito, do you love me?"

"Yes," Kaito responded immediately, slightly put out that Shinichi would even have to ask.

"Will you stick with me through thick and thin?" Conan challenged. "Even though I'm stuck like this?"

"Yes, Shinichi," Kaito replied adamantly. "Yes. Why are you even asking me this?"

"Will you love me, even though it'll be years until I can pull you into my arms and hold you properly again?" Those ice blue eyes never wavered in the intensity of their gaze.

"Yes, Shinichi. I've told you; I'm okay with this. I'll keep loving you anyway," Kaito swore. "Sure, it's not ideal, but it's not going to change how I feel about you. We've been through too much…I love you too much for that. What gives?"

"If you love me…if you keep loving me, nothing else matters. I'm okay, Kaito," Conan assured, pressing his lips to Kaito's and grinning into the kiss.

"Sappy," Kaito chuckled, drinking hungrily from his love's lips. "I like it."

"Yeah?" Conan licked his lips, looking oddly predatory in his small form. "I've got something else you like." Conan stuck out his tongue. "Though…you haven't been too interested in it this past month since you and Ru started getting physical. What do you think?"

"Your tongue is once again my favorite body part." Kaito smirked, crooking his index finger and making a "come hither" motion.

…

Mikau: So, is anyone else devastated that both England AND Japan lost their first matches? I did one hour of yoga and two hours of Zumba so that I could sit on the couch and watch both games live back to back the other day, and both of my teams lost. I'm especially sad about Japan's defeat. The whole game got turned on its head in less than two minutes. Two goals in two minutes. WHAT?! Congrats to the Cote d'Ivoire people. That turnaround was spectacular. But seriously, WHAT?! Anyway, thanks so much for reading guys! Thanks in advance for your reviews, and have a wonderful day! See you next time!


	74. The Follow-Up

Mikau: Hi everyone! Thanks for coming back for more! I don't have a whole lot to say today (that's not related to soccer and how I'm disappointed in Japan and England and Australia and Spain. The list goes on, actually. Couldn't be prouder of Costa Rica, though; I'm sure my former host families down there are exuberant.), so let's just cut right to the chase and get on with the chapter! By the way, thanks a ton to my reviewers from last chapter: Bunnyz-chan, MeitanteiRose, GeekyGenius, and SenkoHasegawa. I always appreciate you guys.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't have had to wait six months to see the Lupin vs. Detective Conan movie! But I finally saw it! I found out about it in December right before it came out in theatres (yes, I'm out of the loop -.-), and I've wanted to see it since then. It was fabulous! The Conan and Jigen parts were hilarious, and, as always, I love Fujiko. My favorite line is "Betrayal is a woman's accessory." And Kid was so deviously cute at the end too. I'd give you the link, but it looks like it's been taken down. It was raw anyway, so it wouldn't have done you much good unless you speak Japanese. :/

…

The Follow-Up

After getting cleaned up, Conan and Kaito made their way downstairs to the kitchen where Saguru was sitting at the island, staring off into space and letting his breakfast go cold.

Kaito grabbed the plate and spirited it away to the microwave. "I'll get this warmed up for you, Dear."

Saguru blinked. Kaito was whistling cheerfully, alternating between humming and singing a few bars of some half-familiar melody.

"Morning, Ru," Conan greeted as he scaled the stool next to Hakuba's.

"Sh-Shinichi. How…how are you feeling?" the frazzled detective inquired.

The permanently shrunken sleuth shrugged. "Pretty awesome, really. Potent. If I can still make Kaito pant and scream and then sing afterwards even though I'm stuck in this body, I feel like I'm doing alright. How are you?"

Saguru's mouth was hanging open. He had always found _Conan_ and Kaito's physical activity to be a little…uncomfortable to talk about. He supposed he should probably get used to it. Kaito had the libido of three teenage guys, and neither Kaito nor Shinichi seemed to have a problem with the seemingly…pedophilic aspect of their relations.

"I'm…" Words failed him, so he simply shook his head.

Kaito brought the plate back over and set it before his beloved with a smile. "It's okay, Honey." He leaned in and gave the Brit a quick peck on the cheek.

Kaito turned to fetch plates for himself and Conan, but Saguru caught the magician by the wrist.

Kaito looked back at the blonde, tilting his head to the side and giving Saguru a little curious smile.

"Sorry." Saguru blushed, releasing his grip and quickly looking away, down at his plate.

"It's okay," Kaito promised as he wrapped his arms around Hakuba and gently nuzzled his tea blonde hair. "You're fine, Sa-chan."

"'_Sa-chan'?"_ Saguru puzzled over the pet name for a minute before deciding that he liked it. He relaxed into Kaito's embrace. Sa-chan. It was what his mother called him in public when she knew others could hear and wanted to paint a picture of herself as a real mother.

Sa-chan. It was soft and loving, endearing and warm in all the ways it should but never had been when he was younger. Sa-chan. He could work with it.

"Thanks, Dove," he whispered, lightly returning the hug. "What's gotten into you suddenly? I would have thought you would be sulking."

Kaito shrugged and went back to fetching breakfast for the two remaining parties as he whistled, hummed, and sang. "Shin-chan's tongue mostly. I should let you try him out someday. Instant stress relief…. No, but…I just…" He bit his lip and paused as he picked up the plates he had quickly filled with a little bit of everything Baaya had been kind enough to prepare.

Kaito turned back to Saguru and smiled. "I love you. For real, so…" He set the plates on the countertop and sat down across from Saguru. "Just tell me what you need. I may be a little dense at times, so it's hard for me to see it myself, but…if you'll tell me what you need, I'll do my best to give it to you. Okay?"

Saguru nodded in understanding, a smile breaking through. "Okay. Time, Kaito. I need time."

"Okay," Kaito agreed before switching topics. "So…we all agreed that we wanted to get a dog…eventually, right?"

The co-boyfriends nodded.

"What kind of dog? Big? Small? I want a Lab or a Golden Retriever or a Shiba Inu or a German Shepard or something."

Conan chuckled. "It sounds like you kind of want a medium or larger dog. Shiba Inus are the only ones even remotely small on your list."

"I could do with any of the above. All of those are energetic and playful, known for being good, companionable dogs. I feel that those breeds would be a good fit for us. Personally, I think a Retriever would be a good choice. I hear that they're good with children, and since we're planning on having at least three of those…" Saguru shrugged.

"Shiba Inus are good with children too," Conan replied, showing his hand. "They're really smart, clean animals."

"Let's get two dogs!" Kaito proposed a compromise.

"Not at the same time," Saguru chuckled sheepishly.

"And what are we going to name these dogs?" Kaito quickly moved the process along, shoving a forkful of hashbrowns into his mouth.

Conan and Saguru shared a look and twin grins blossomed on their faces.

"Not 'Sherlock'," Kaito nipped that in the bud.

"I think we should take a vote," Conan proposed. "What do Kid and the first Kaito think?"

Kaito grimaced when he realized that he was going to lose this one. "Kid thinks that 'Hope', 'Houdini', or 'Shadow' would be more fitting names, but No1 thinks that 'Sherlock' is a cute name."

"That's my Kai-chan," Saguru preened.

"The other names aren't too bad either." Conan shrugged. "'Hope' wouldn't be after the Hope Diamond, would it?"

Kaito grinned. "There are layers of meaning."

"How about 'Regret', 'Genuine Risk', or 'Winning Colors'?" Chrisy joined in from where she lurked in the doorway.

"Those are horse names," Conan snorted, remembering them from one of Old Man Mouri's racing posters.

"Kiku-chan!" Kaito sang, waving hello.

"Do you care much for horse racing, Miss Monroe? Please come in," Saguru invited cordially. The other blonde had become quite the welcome presence in his life.

"Only when uh filly wins," Kei answered for his fiancée as he trailed into the kitchen behind her.

The three added friendly greetings to their additional guest as Chrisy came to lean on the island.

Kei issued each of them a warm (well, as warm as the stoic man got) "Good morning" before taking the one remaining vacant seat at the island. "I'd offer th' seat t' Chris if I thought it would help," he added in explanation. "But she's too stubborn t' take it. She's tryin' t' prove that she's strong, even though she's injured. 'Sides, she normally prefers standin'."

The boys nodded.

"I think we all understand and would do the same in her place, Kei-san," Saguru chuckled sheepishly. "How are the both of you doing this morning?"

Chrisy shrugged. "Better than I should be. _He_ made me go to sleep last night." She poked her boyfriend's cheek accusatorily. "If it had been up to me, I would have pulled an all-nighter and gotten some work accomplished, but…"

"Ya need yer rest, Chris," Kei informed, and she just couldn't argue with him.

She shrugged again, letting it go. Truthfully, she just hadn't wanted to give him any more trouble to deal with what with the passing of his brother, Eiichi. Kei didn't show it, but it _had_ to be hard. Chrisy didn't even like her own sister, but she was sure she would be at least a little bit of a mess if Natalie should ever die.

"_Anyway_," Chrisy continued. "So far so good. No word from the Organization. No new dead bodies yet."

"Good," Hakuba sighed in relief.

"What's next, Kiku-chan?" Kaito inquired, forking a piece of pancake and holding it out, offering her a bite.

She smiled but waved her hand, signaling that she was fine. "Well, the police found the body just an hour or so ago. I've instructed them to keep quiet and sit on it for another hour, but there will be a press release around ten thirty saying that they've found Kid's body but won't be releasing his identity due to fears that the killers will come after the family.

"Nakamori is due to make a statement to the effect that he was sure that the Kid last night was the real thing and something about how he was a good rival all those years, yada, yada. It's probably going to be sappy," Chrisy sighed, stealing a bite of hashbrowns off of Conan's plate.

"Hey!" The shrunken detective swatted her hand away.

"They're gonna want yer statement too, Hakuba-kun," Kei informed them gravely.

"Yours too, Shrimp," Chrisy added.

"Hey!" Conan futilely protested his nickname.

"That's why we came over early before the release of information. We wanted to get here before the press started swarming so that we could warn you to get your statement ready." Chrisy next picked at Conan's breakfast sausage.

"Stop that!" the pint-sized sleuth whined.

He was utterly ignored.

"Wait. The press will be coming here? W-What for? I…What do I say to them?" Saguru began to panic.

Chrisy shrugged. "Tell them you weren't there last night. You and Shrim…py Sherlock decided to stay at home because you figured it'd be too dangerous what with the recent killings and threats against Kid. Tell them Sherlocky Shrimp was staying with you because you were working on the case together since the grownups wouldn't really take you seriously. Most importantly, tell them that with Kid's death, you've decided to give up the investigation. Let them know that it seems too dangerous for you to keep sticking your noses in. Tell them that you're going to leave it to the police. Any questions?"

Saguru shook his head.

"Do you want me to do it for you, Sa-chan?" Kaito gently offered, reaching across the island to place his hand on top of his boyfriend's. "You've been under a lot of stress lately. I could dress up as you and talk to the press in your place."

"No," Chrisy cut in before Saguru could even reply. A pained expression came to her face. "I've got something I need you to do, Kiddo."

"Hopefully nothing dangerous," Conan snorted, swatting at her hand again as it encroached upon his plate a third time. "He's still injured."

Chrisy rolled her eyes. "Relax, Sherlock. Nothing even remotely strenuous physically. Just a little play acting…. Maybe a little emotionally difficult, but…" She looked back at Kaito. "I may have done something you're not going to be too happy about, and I need you to play along in order to solidify the belief that Kaitou 1412 is dead in the minds of the Organization."

Kaito's eyebrows inched together slightly. "What's going on? What do you need me to do, Kiku-chan?"

She sighed, closing her eyes. "There's some concern that Organization members have infiltrated the police force. None of the members in on our little scheme are dirty, mind you, but some of the members that might be able to access files…like the ones with the information about our Kid stand-in's identity."

"What did you do?" Saguru shifted uncomfortably, leaning in a little closer.

"Doctored up Nii-san's body t' look like someone else," Kei replied in a flat, cold tone, tinted with a twinge of remorse. "Hacked a couple 'o databases and changed aroun' some fingerprint and dental records."

"The body is officially being recorded as belonging to Kuroba Touichi," Chrisy whispered.

It was quiet for a moment. All was still.

Kaito dropped his fork. "…You…? Dad's…"

"In order to protect you," Chrisy explained softly, opening her eyes and giving him a pleading look. She just wanted him to understand. "They can't know that you had anything to do with this. If they ever suspect your involvement, they'll kill you and anyone that could possibly be involved, anyone close to you. Goldilocks and Sherlock would be in danger too. We have to make them think that it was Toi-chan and only Toi-chan."

Kaito looked down at his plate.

Saguru squeezed Kaito's hand.

"Dad…would be okay with this, so…I'll be okay with it too." He squeezed Saguru's hand in return and turned to look up at Chrisy. "What do you need me to do, Kiku-chan?"

She smiled softly and nodded with resolve. "When the press comes to hound Goldilocks and Sherlock, I need you to make a statement as well. Stand in the background as the detectives say their peace and look…well…heartbroken. I've got a plant coming in with the crowd. They'll pretend to confuse you with Kudo Shinichi and ask you about the case in order to bring you into the limelight. From there, what I need you to do is talk about Kid and Toi-chan. Mention you're a Kid fan. Say how he reminds you of your father. If you can slip in how Toi-chan was supposed to have died a decade ago, all the better. I need you to innocently drop clues. I want you to all but right out say that your father was the Kaitou Kid, but remember that you don't know anything. Sound unsure, but leave them with no questions about what the truth is…the truth that we want them to believe anyway…. Can you do that, Kiddo?"

Kaito smiled softly. "I've got it. Don't worry. So…we make our statements to the press, and…then what?"

Chrisy shrugged. "We wait. If they haven't killed anyone else after three days, we can assume that we're in the clear, I think. In all reality, if they have even the slightest doubt that Kid is dead, they'll up the body count and send another 'Come out and play' notice today. We should know by the end of the day if they've bought it."

Conan nodded. "So what we should be focusing on now is our statements and making them seem authentic."

"Right," Chrisy confirmed.

And then it was quiet as the three boys collected their thoughts, formulating carefully crafted half-truths. The only sounds were Kei and Chrisy's mutters set against the backdrop of utensils clinking against plates as everyone became lost in thought.

…

Mikau: Okay, so neither of the chapters I updated today seem to be very happy, but there were some not-so-tragic parts, right? Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter and it won't be too long before I'm able to update again. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing guys! Have a splendid day!


	75. Sell It

Mikau: Hello everyone! I have three updates for you this week! CTM, Roses, AND HP! Yay! We'll see what I manage next week. I plan on working on the second chapter to Caught Up in You, though. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last time: SenkoHasegawa, Bunnyz-chan, MeitanteiRose, and GeekyGenius! Well, without further ado, here's CTM!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would have been more Kaito screen time in the mystery train arc. I just watched those episodes the other day waiting for Kid to show up, and it really didn't happen. I was sad.

…

Sell It

They'd finished breakfast in relative silence and quietly cleaned up after themselves, and then they stood, looking at each other, not knowing what to do until the press converged upon them like scavengers.

"Wanna puppy pile on the couch and watch TV until the vultures come?" Kaito suggested, making Conan chuckle and Saguru crack a small smile.

"Definitely," the smallest member of their strange love pentagram easily agreed, heading for the rarely used living room. "I think we could use some snuggle time before we go out there and sell it for the cameras."

Saguru nodded, gladly following. "I think we'd all benefit from a good puppy pile."

Kei snuck a glance at Chrisy as the three boys left. His face was neigh emotionless, but if pressed to identify a feeling conveyed, his look would be labeled "hopeful". "Kin we puppy pile too?"

Chrisy blinked, slightly taken aback. "Huh?" Her head snapped to the left to look at him incredulously.

Kei shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking minutely uncomfortable (to the trained eye).

"With…them?" Chrisy's head slowly tilted to the right.

Kei looked away.

Saguru, who had hung back when he heard their exchange, hit his head against the doorjamb in exasperation.

Kei and Chrisy both jumped and drew their previously well-concealed weapons at the noise.

Saguru smiled sheepishly. "Just a fanboy. Please don't shoot. Additionally, Kei-san meant with _you_. Just the two of you."

Chrisy's eyes widened, and she lowered the gun, looking back to her fiancé. "O-Oh. O…kay. I mean…sure. Yeah…we can…that's fine."

Saguru did a small victory dance out in the hall as Chrisy blushed and Kei smiled victoriously (You know. In his own way).

"Coming, Ru?" Conan called, peeking around the corner at his partner and raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. Be there in a second!" the Brit assured, casting the awkward couple one last look before heading towards the living room.

"Lie down," Kaito demanded as soon as the blonde sleuth walked into the room.

Saguru blinked.

"He means on the couch," Conan clarified, rolling his eyes fondly. "He intends to use you as a body pillow."

Saguru shrugged and lay down on his back as commanded. "Careful of your injuries, Kai," he warned as Kaito grabbed Conan and then lied down on his side between Saguru's legs so that his ear was right above Saguru's heart.

"I'm fine," Kaito assured. "This is perfect just like this."

"You sure your ribs are okay?" Conan mumbled from where he was pressed to Kaito's sternum.

"Yeah. Those crazy SIU witchdoctors are miracle workers with their salves and their painkillers," Kaito giggled, closing his eyes and settling in, just resting.

Saguru forewent further protest and decided to just enjoy the warmth of his sill living, breathing, stubborn boyfriend as Kaito snuggled, nuzzling Saguru's collarbone.

Chrisy and Kei came in a few minutes later as unobtrusively as possible, making themselves comfortable on the loveseat with Kei's arm wrapped loosely around her shoulders as she tipped her head to rest lightly against his shoulder.

…

Just as Chrisy had said, at ten thirty there was a news broadcast. A sallow-faced Nakamori-keibu with dark circles under his eyes came on screen.

He cleared his throat before he began. "Last night…at the Kid heist…there were shots fired on Kid as he was escaping. We, uh…believe the shooters are connected with the recent murder spree and the 'Come out and play' notes left addressed to Kid at the crime scenes."

He shifted and cleared his throat again as he shuffled through his notecards. "Last night Kid was shot down…. His glider landed in the Teimuzu River, and we've spent the night searching…and hoping, I think, that we wouldn't find anything."

The Inspector looked away from the cards and straight at the camera. "I think I can speak for everyone on my team when I say that we were sincerely hoping that nothing turned up and that today we'd get a smug note from that bastard bragging about how he'd pulled one over on us yet again, but…"

He swallowed to disguise the crack in his voice. He looked back down at the cards. "This morning at about eight fifty, we found Kid's body. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds…" He swallowed again. "…pretty severe wounds, but the ultimate cause of death was drowning. The, uh…the gem that was the object of Kid's final heist was recovered in part. It appears that the gem in Kid's chest pocket was hit by one of the bullets. It was pretty much destroyed, and most of it is lost in the Teimuzu."

Nakamori flipped to a different card. "It seems that Kid had another smaller jewel with him at the time he was killed as well, also in the chest pocket. It too appears to have been hit by one of the bullets and destroyed. Like the target of the heist, the majority of this second, as of yet, unidentified gem seems to have been lost to the waters of the Teimuzu as well."

Nakamori-keibu took a moment, reviewing the cards before he looked up at the camera again. "Kid's identity has been confirmed, but, out of respect for the family and so that they do not become targets of Kid's killers, Kid's identity will not be made public."

He paused again, looking far off and seemingly grasping at thoughts and the right words like wisps of smoke. "Kid…may have been a thief, but he wasn't just a thief. He was a gentleman with a strong sense of honor and justice. He may have been an obnoxious bastard, making fools out of me and my men, but…he had a good heart, and he wouldn't allow anyone save himself to get hurt at a heist. He returned what he stole, and he assisted the police, helping them to capture more serious criminals. At the end of the day, the Kaitou Kid was a good man underneath it all. Kaitou 1412 may be dead, but he will never be forgotten. Farewell and Godspeed. My sincerest condolences to the family. Thank you."

Nakamori gave a solemn bow, and the reporters all broke out in a clamor of questions and comments which the proud officer declined to answer. He walked away, waving them off, looking like heavy boulder was weighing down on his heart.

"Kai-chan?" Conan called softly, looking up in worry at his beloved.

Kaito shook his head, wiping away the tears with the back of his hand. "Sorry. It's just…he was talking about my dad. I think he knew. All along…he knew. He was like me, wanting to believe that Dad wasn't really gone…. Sorry. It was a really good speech."

Conan wrapped his arms around Kaito's torso and squeezed hard.

Saguru leaned in and pressed a gentle, comforting kiss to Kaito's temple. "It was a beautiful speech," Saguru agreed.

"Yeah," Chrisy whispered, wiping a stray tear from her own eye, pretending it was just a piece of dust or a hair.

Kei gave her shoulders a little squeeze.

…

Eleven o'clock came and, with it, a pounding on the door accompanied by persistent doorbell ringing.

Everyone took a collective deep breath and got to their feet.

"Pick me up, Ru," Conan urged, reaching up like the small child he resembled. "It'll be easier with you holding me.

Saguru nodded, acquiescing and slowly making his way to the door. "Ready?" he whispered.

Conan and Kaito nodded in sync, and the door was opened to flashing lights and microphones thrust into their faces, cameras recording their every move.

"Detective Hakuba!" "Conan-kun!" The reporters called as Saguru stepped out onto the porch, asking them to kindly move back and give them a little space before he would speak with them.

"I gather you're here regarding…" Saguru swallowed, surprised to find himself unable to get the words "Kid's death" out. "…R-Regarding Kid, I presume? I found out this morning, just like the rest of you."

The reporters surged forward, spouting questions, pressing against one another, almost on top of each other. They reminded the teen of a large group of koi fish begging for food with their mouths opening and closing with an audible pop…gaping maws eager to swallow even the smallest crumb, willing to fight their brothers and sisters over every scrap.

"Ru-niichan said it was too dangerous for us to go to the heist last night," Conan explained, answering several journalists' question of where they had been the previous evening, why they hadn't known sooner.

"We stayed home and worked on the case," Conan continued. "The grownups won't let me help. They say I'm too young, and they won't take me seriously, but Ru-niichan and I were working together, trying to catch the bad guys that were threatening our thief!" He played a very believable possessive and enthusiastic eight year-old.

"We…plan on discontinuing the investigation, though," Saguru jumped in. "Now that…" His voice failed him. He closed his eyes, trying to compose himself.

Kaito was fine. Kaito was fine. Kaito was going to be just fine.

Conan wrapped his arms around Saguru's neck and tilted his head so that it rested against Saguru's in a show of brotherly affection.

"He can't be gone," Conan mumbled loud enough to be picked up by the mics. "We didn't even get to catch him. He's not supposed to be dead. How am I gonna catch him and put him in jail, if he's dead?"

"The worst part is that I'll never know why he stole and returned everything," Saguru joined in. "I'll never know what he was searching for or who those people were that were shooting at him…. I'll never be able to ask him now."

Conan nodded sadly. "We'll never know."

"Perhaps we were never meant to know," Saguru added.

"Isn't that Kudo Shinichi!" one of the "reporters" (Chrisy's plant) called out, directing everyone's attention to Kaito who was standing in the background by the front door, staying out of the limelight and looking forlorn until his turn came.

Conan and Saguru turned their heads, and Kaito stepped forward, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Kudo-kun! Are you helping with the investigation?!" one of the real journalists inquired.

"Detective Kudo, what can you tell us about the case?!" another followed the question up with one of her own.

Kaito shook his head but came up to Saguru's side. "I'm not Kudo-kun. I'm Kuroba Kaito."

"He's my classmate and close friend," Saguru explained, reaching out and lightly resting his fingertips on the small of Kaito's back.

"My dad was the world's greatest magician, Kuroba Touichi, and someday I'm going to be just as good as him, but until then, I'm just a magician wannabe and the Kaitou Kid's biggest fan." Kaito winced a little bit, looking remorseful at the passing of his idol.

Saguru smiled softly, a bittersweet grin. "It's embarrassing to admit, but, at first, I actually believed that Kaito _was_ Kid. I found a strand of hair that I believed to have dropped from Kid one night, and the DNA was very similar to Kaito's, but it was simply my mistake. Kaito has been present at many heists by my side, sometimes handcuffed to me to ensure his innocence, and I can firmly attest to the fact that Kaito is not Kid."

"He's just a crazy fanboy, right?" Conan chuckled, reaching out and poking Kaito's cheek.

"Because he reminds me of my dad so much," Kaito snorted, making it all work together. "My dad…he died in an accident on stage when I was little, but I have a lot of really good memories of him, and Kid…Kid just really reminds me of my dad and how my dad used to make me feel. At first I thought…" Kaito laughed sheepishly at himself, pretending to feel silly and a touch melancholy. "My dad died right around when Kid first disappeared, so I kind of thought at first that maybe my dad might have actually been Kid, but…I don't know. I just really enjoyed Kid's magic like a lot of the other fans; it brought back all of those great memories with my dad, and…now that Kid's gone…it kind of feels like losing my dad a second time."

Saguru nodded, wrapping an arm around Kaito's waist as Conan reached out to be handed over to Kaito for a tight hug.

"If there are no more questions, we'd like to kindly ask you to leave," Saguru informed the press. "We're all still feeling very…raw at the news of Kid's passing. I'm sure you understand."

The reporters called out questions, but Saguru shepherded Kaito and Conan inside, firmly closing and locking the door behind them.

Once safe on the other side, the three sighed once more.

"I'm so glad that's over," Kaito mumbled, turning to bury his face in Saguru's neck, squishing Conan a little between them.

"Yeah," Saguru sighed, loosely wrapping his arms around the other two.

"You guys did really well," Chrisy chuckled as she came out of the living room. "It was perfect. Full of honest emotion; I think they'll buy it. At the very least it'll make them seriously question what they think they know."

"Good," Kaito mumbled, a small smile coming to his lips. "I'm tired, and my ribs are starting to hurt. I could use a snack and another puppy pile."

"I'll go get you something to eat," Saguru offered, placing a kiss on Kaito's forehead before reluctantly withdrawing.

"I'll take care o' th' pain," Kei added from his place behind Chrisy, resting his head on top of hers as he hung off of her.

"Thanks guys," Kaito chuckled sheepishly.

…

Mikau: This one, I think it's good, but I wonder if it's good enough. Was it believable? Was there enough emotion? Those are the things I'm wondering about. What did you guys think of the chapter? Did you enjoy it? Thanks so much for joining me once more. Take care until next week guys!


	76. Hakamairi (Grave Visit)

Mikau: Hi guys! I'm sorry that this week's update is a little late. This chapter is a little short, but the Roses update is good, I think. As for HP, it got a pretty poor response even though I thought a lot of people were looking forward to it, so I was pretty disappointed and am considering putting it on the back burner (if you just forgot to review or didn't notice that the new chapter was up, let me know so I can stop being depressed about it). Anyway, thanks so much for your patience and encouragement, guys. Thanks especially to everyone who reviewed last chapter: MeitanteiRose, Bunnyz-chan, Katherine Apollo Karma, and SenkoHasegawa.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd be able to dedicate all of my time to writing and collecting something obscure like little owl figurines. Isn't that what rich people do? Collect little owl figurines?

…

Hakamairi

They had a light lunch, all of them half-heartedly picking at their food while Baaya encouraged them to "Eat some more. Look at you; you're wasting away, Honey. How are you going to fight evil when you're as thin as a rope? Here. Have another helping."

Conan and Kei were the only ones that ate a reasonable amount.

After lunch, it was back to the living room, puppy piling on the couch, and waiting with bated breath for the news to announce an increase in the victims of the Organization's killing spree.

At one o'clock, Kaito sighed. "Hey guys? There's someplace I wanna go. Kiku-chan and Kei-san, could you guys wait here for news while Guru and Shin-chan come with me?"

Chrisy cocked her head half an inch to the side. "Where are you going, Kiddo?"

Kaito sat up and shrugged. "I kinda want to go visit Dad."

Chrisy nodded with a knowing look. "Yeah. That's fine. Burn a stick of incense for me, and tell him I say hi…and sorry…and thank you."

"You got it." With a salute, Kaito slowly pulled himself to his feet, wincing a little at the pain from his ribs.

"Are you going to be okay to walk and use public transit, or do I need to ask Baaya to take us?" Saguru bit his lip in worry as he inquired.

Kaito waved his concern away. "I'll be fine. Thanks, though."

They set out in relative silence. It was beginning to feel less awkward, though. They were comfortable in each other's company, and they felt at ease. Nothing needed to be said.

They arrived at the graveyard a little less than half an hour later, and Conan and Saguru followed Kaito as he led them to Kuroba Touichi's resting place. They stopped as they crested the hill by the pond, a few hundred yards off from the grave.

Inspector Nakamori was there.

Kaito gave his boyfriends a small smile. "Would you two mind waiting here for a bit? I'd like to talk to him, but I think he'd like some privacy."

"I don't mind." Conan shrugged, leaning up against one of the trees.

"Just wave us over whenever you're ready for us, Kaito." Hakuba nodded.

"Thanks." With an encouraging smile, Kaito turned and headed towards the police inspector.

"Hi, Nakamori-keibu…Dad," Kaito tentatively greeted the officer and the headstone.

Nakamori gave a slight jump at the sudden intrusion of Kaito's voice. He surreptitiously rubbed his eye before turning to nod in acknowledgement. "Kaito-kun. I was just…just saying goodbye."

Kaito nodded, coming to stand at Nakamori's side, but still a comfortable distance away. "…I'm sorry, Inspector," Kaito started quietly. "I've made things really difficult for you these past couple years…. I've taken you away from your daughter, made you work crazy hours, treated you with disrespect…. Even though I had semi-noble intentions, I've still wronged you. You're a good man, Inspector, and I really admire your drive and determination. You work hard, and your heart's in the right place. I'm really sorry that things happened the way that they did, Nakamori-keibu…. You said you wanted to talk to me once I survived my mission…. You can go ahead and yell at me now, Sir. I deserve it."

Kaito bowed his head slightly in respect and waited for the eardrum-shattering barrage of reprimands he was sure would come.

Nakamori chuckled, mussing Kaito's hair. "I wasn't planning on yelling at you, Kaito-kun. I know how much you love your dad; I understand why you did it. I will say this, though: you're an idiot! What kind of moron uses themselves as live bait to catch murders?!" The Inspector sighed and shook his head. "But I guess that's natural because you're a little loon, just like your parents. Anyway, the little talk I intended for us to have was just…well…you did a good job. I really did think you were Touichi. There were days when I had my doubts, but…you're a hell of a lot like your old man, Kaito-kun."

"I'm sorry for deceiving you," Kaito mumbled, lowering his head. "I wasn't the one that brought Kid back, though. My dad's friend…he got tired of waiting for justice, so he decided to resurrect Kid in order to bring _them_ out of hiding. Around that time, I stumbled upon my dad's secret, and…I went to confront Kid, thinking that I was going to meet my dad, but…and then I continued what my dad's friend had started, and that led to finding out about Pandora…did you know about Pandora?"

Nakamori nodded. "Touichi and I met back in college; he was my roommate. We really hit it off. Some things I discovered on my own, but most stuff he right out told me. He never really tried to keep things hidden. The whole thief thing wasn't happening just yet, though. Back then the big mystery about him was where he went at night, how come he was always so beat up, and who the hell was that pretty woman he spent so much time with? Back then he was just a secret agent. He hadn't been assigned to the Organization or Pandora yet. Project 1412 was still just an idea being tossed around by the higher ups."

"What woman? My mom?" Kaito questioned, wondering if he wanted to know. Somehow, the idea of his mom having had other boyfriends didn't seem to bother him, but his dad having other women in his life? The very idea made him squirm in discomfort.

Nakamori shook his head. "A real pretty British lady. Long, full, brunette hair and an athletic body. Sometimes he called her Vi, and other times it was Kitty. I think her real name was Katherine or something like that, but the other agents called her Viper. For the longest time I thought they were dating, but she was Touichi's partner. The way it works in the SIU, partners usually become mates…. The way Touichi explained it to me was that agents were kind of breed like animals. Rarely was there love in a match. Of course partners share a deep sense of trust after working together, watching each other's backs their whole lives, but…love is rare, especially since those people are really desensitized to a lot of nasty stuff. Most of the agents are kind of devoid of emotion, like zombies. You've seen that Kei guy that Chrisy Monroe works with. Vi was a little more emotional, though. She wasn't just a soldier. She was a spy. She specialized in recon through…well…seduction."

"So…this Viper woman and my dad were supposed to…to get married?" Kaito swallowed hard, a sense of unease settling over him.

Nakamori shrugged. "Yeah. That was the idea. She was a few years older than Touichi though, and he…he didn't love her. He was always kind of funny even among the rest of the SIUs. He wanted to fall in love and get married…didn't buy into the partner system. He told Vi that it wasn't happening long before Touichi met Chikage-san."

"What happened to Viper? I mean…where is she now?" Kaito gulped. "Did she seem like the type to hold a grudge? I mean…I'm going to be starting with the SIU soon, so I might run into her, so…should I be worried?"

At this, Nakamori-keibu laughed heartily. "I don't know about that. Ask Miss Chrysanthemum; Viper's her mom."

Kaito's mouth fell open. "Oh."

"Anyway, what I wanted to tell you was that…I figured you'd be signing on with the SIU after this. You did a great job, and they're opportunistic bastards. If they can use you, they will, even though you're a half-blood. They're weird people, so be careful. It's a dangerous job, but…I think you're suited to it. You've got the opportunity to do a lot of good, Kaito-kun, but…just…don't forget who you really are and what you stand for. Don't let them make you into something you're not. I don't think Chrisy-san will do you wrong, but…be an agent like your father. He was good, skilled, and reliable, but he was still a human being with a heart…with compassion. You're a lot like your old man, so I have a feeling you'll be just fine. Just don't push yourself too hard. Remember that you've got people waiting at home for you." Nakamori nodded to where Saguru and Conan were waiting and clapped Kaito hard on the back.

"Thanks, Nakamori-keibu." Kaito smiled and bowed in genuine gratitude as the inspector turned to leave.

…

Mikau: Well, hopefully I'll have more for you next week. I haven't had a day off completely to myself since last Tuesday, the first, so I haven't had enough writing time. Hopefully next week will be better. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though. Take care, guys! Thanks for reading!


	77. Jumping Ship

Mikau: Hey, guys. Sorry for the brief disappearance. Here's the long and short of it: I got sick, my dog got sick, we have to put my dog to sleep, so I've been more interested in spending time with her than writing lately. Thank you all for your continued patience and support. Hopefully I'll see you guys again soon. I'll be on vacation this coming week, but I hope to have something upon my return or the week after that. I will be continuing Caught Up in You and HP, and the Roses chapter should be up before too long. In the meantime, please enjoy this CTM update, and I've also got a new KaiShin one-shot called The Courage to Confess. Take a look if you have time and feel so inclined. Thanks a bunch to everyone that reviewed last time: Bunnyz-chan, GeekyGenius, SenkoHasegawa, and MeitanteiRose. You're all such an inspiration to keep going, so thank you.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd see about a Magic Kaito drama. Now wouldn't that be cool? I wouldn't know who I'd want to play whom, though. I don't watch a lot of dramas, so I'm more in the know about voice actors than actors. But probably Toda Erika-san and throw in some Arashi members like Nino-san, Aiba-san, or Sakurai-san. Nino might make a cute Kaito. Anyway…

…

Jumping Ship

Kaito motioned his boyfriends over to the grave after Nakamori-keibu left.

"Good chat?" Conan asked tentatively.

Kaito nodded. "Yeah. I think we reached an understanding…. I was really expecting him to chew me out."

"I think we were too," Saguru chuckled. "When you went over to speak with him, Shinichi and I both covered our ears in anticipation of bellowing. I'm very glad that it didn't come to that."

"Yeah," Kaito chuckled. "Thanks guys. Anyway, the reason I wanted to come here today was because…well…I think we really need to tell our parents about what's really going on between us: my three personalities, Shinichi's little problem, everything. I don't want to keep hiding our relationship from the people that are closest to us."

"But telling them about me is akin to a death sentence," Shinichi reminded. "We can't let them know about the Black Organization."

"But…the Black Organization—at least some faction of it—has outted itself with this killing spree it's been on," Hakuba reasoned. "Would it really make a difference if we only told those that would be killed anyway? We'll only tell those closest to us, correct?"

Kaito looked entreatingly at his little love.

Conan sighed. "Just who did you plan on telling, Kaito?"

"My mom, my dad, your parents, Baaya, Aoko, and the Mouris," Kaito listed.

"Whoa. Hold on," Conan protested, waving his arms. "Why Ran and Occhan?"

"Because they're close enough to us to know, and they're dead anyway, should your little secret get out." Kaito shrugged. "Ran-chan is my friend, and I've got a lot of respect for Old Man Mouri. Now that you're not going back to being Shinichi again, you're going to be staying with them for a long time, right? This isn't temporary anymore while you find a cure and defeat the bad guys, Shin-chan. You're permanently Conan. You're going to be growing up all over again, and it wasn't until you where what? Thirteen? Fourteen? When you started living by yourself the first time? You're eight and a half right now. That's still four and half more years at the very least until you'd be moving out. I think they deserve to know just what's going on, and I don't want to sneak behind their backs and be labeled a pedophile. I want to be able to openly carry out our relationship."

Shinichi took a deep breath and turned to Hakuba. "Ru? What do you think?"

"He makes a good point, Shinichi. Our families should know. We've previously discussed why my biological parents should be left out of the loop until a later date…. Ah…only…my father sort of found out that I'm dating Kaito, but…the Mouris are Conan's family. It was one thing when you only planned to be around for a short time, but…now…Conan is a permanent part of their lives. Conan is Ran-san's little brother and Mouri-tantei's son. Now that Conan is your reality, you'll have to redefine and readjust in those relationships. How you do that is up to you three, but…I do believe that you owe it to them to be honest."

Conan nodded. "…Okay. Give me some time to think about it."

"Thanks, Shin-chan." Kaito bent over and gave his shrunken sleuth a kiss. "In the meantime, let's start off with my dad."

The boyfriends nodded, turning their attention to the headstone.

"Hey, Dad," Kaito greeted once more. "Long time no see. Sorry it's been almost two weeks. Some stuff happened. Kiku-chan will probably drop by and tell you all about it—she says hi and sorry and thanks, by the way—but…Kaitou 1412 is dead. I'm really sad about that. Being Kid…I felt connected to you, and…it was amazing being able to fight your fight and follow in your footsteps, but…some really bad stuff happened, and that had to come to an end. I think I'm okay with it, though, even though I'll miss sharing Kid with you. I'm doing something new now…following in your footsteps again. I'm going to become a secret agent with the Special Interests Unit, just like you were. I promise to keep being me, though. I'm going to put everything you taught me into practice, and I'm not going to kill. Unless it really comes down to me or them…or if there's no other way to protect someone…I promise to keep my hands clean. In all other instances, I _will_ find a way to complete my missions without taking a life. I swear, Dad."

Kaito smiled and wiped a tear from his eye as both Saguru and Conan wrapped their arms loosely around him. Kaito picked Conan up and placed his free arm around Saguru's waist.

"Dad, I also came here today to introduce some really important people to you. This is Hakuba Saguru and Kudo Shinichi. I've talked about them a lot before, but…these are the men I love."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sir." Saguru bowed.

"Hello, Kuroba-san." Conan added his own bow. "I know we met before when I was small the first time at the library, and you've probably known me since I was born what with your relationship with my parents, but…it's an honor to be introduced to you again as your future son-in-law."

"I think I speak for the both of us when I say that we love your sons with everything that we possess," Saguru continued, and Conan nodded. "We may be mere human beings with our own fears and weaknesses, but together Shinichi and I make a strong team. Together, we'll take good care of your sons, but…I personally swear to you that I will do everything in my power to make Kaito happy."

"And whenever that's not enough, I'll step in," Shinichi vowed. "Together we'll make it through anything."

"See, Dad?" Kaito chuckled, squeezing his mates. "I'm in good hands, so you don't have to worry about me as much now. We're going to take care of one another."

They stayed at the grave for an hour or so more, talking and visiting, burning incense and cleaning up.

It was nearly five o'clock when they returned home to the Hakuba Manor and sat down to Baaya's wonderful dinner.

"Any news?" Kaito asked as they took their seats. He figured no news was good news and that they probably didn't have any since they hadn't informed him the moment he'd stepped through the door, so…

Chrisy shook her head.

"That's reassuring," Saguru sighed in relief, finally feeling calm enough to actually eat a normal amount.

"Un," Kaito agreed, eying the baked potato on Conan's plate. "Why is yours bigger than mine?"

Conan growled like a Chihuahua. "Why is everyone scoping out my plate today? Kaito, you picked first. My potato is bigger because it's obviously a lot better at growing than yours. If you wanted the bigger one, you should have taken it when you had the chance."

Kaito put his hands over his potato, as if shielding it from harm. He glared at Shinichi. "Shh. Don't say such mean things right in front of it. You'll give it a complex."

Conan's fork stopped halfway to his mouth, and he stared at Kaito with his mouth hanging open. "…Seriously? We're concerned about the potato's wellbeing and emotional development?"

Kaito looked to the side and grumbled. "It's not my fault that my biological clock is ringing loudly in my ears, causing me to project my maternal instincts onto this potato."

Conan turned to look at Hakuba, feeling grateful that he wasn't alone in his fight to survive Kaito's utter bizarreness. "Ru. Do something. Fix this."

"Shinichi, please apologize to the potato," Saguru requested.

Conan deadpanned. "You want me to…?"

"Yes. If you would," Saguru urged.

Conan blinked, slowly turning his gaze on the small potato on Kaito's plate. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It's okay. You're just small for your age…like me. You'll grow, so don't worry about what I said, okay?"

And then Shinichi looked back and forth between Kaito and Saguru. "Was that okay?"

Saguru nodded, and Kaito smiled happily, beginning to hum as he built a small tower of peas on his plate.

"Dove, food is for eating, not playing. Go ahead and eat; you didn't have a very substantial lunch, and you'll need proper nutrition in order to heal and keep up your strength," Saguru reasoned.

"'Kay," Kaito sang, spearing some of the vegetables and lifting them to his lips. His fork then turned to the potato of previous controversy and paused just an inch from making contact. Kaito looked up at Saguru. "I can't eat it. I've become emotionally attached."

Saguru nodded, taking the potato off of the plate and setting it on top of Kaito's napkin. He then filled the vacated spot with a different potato. "Just don't project feelings onto this one too."

"'Kay." And Kaito was back to vocalizing and humming.

Chrisy couldn't help but titter. "You're so good at handling him, Goldilocks. I'm impressed!"

Saguru shrugged, blushing faintly at the praise. "Sometimes are infinitely easier than others. If only all of our problems were as simple as the potato dilemma."

"Sometimes I think he pretends to be simple and childish just to give us a break from the big stuff that's always going down," Shinichi chuckled softly, shaking his head in fond disbelief.

"Do not," Kaito fibbed. "Not all the time, anyway. Sometimes I really am just that simple and childish."

"We like that about you…when we don't want to shake you because of it," Saguru confessed.

"You kids are so cute!" Chrisy laughed genuinely, causing Kei to just barely smile blissfully.

She turned to him once the laughter had subsided and hesitantly asked, "H-Hey…we…we can have kids, right?"

Kei blinked, a faint tint of pink raising in his cheeks. "Uh…biologically? Y-Yeah. Yeah, we kin have kids."

Saguru's ears perked up. So many new developments so quickly!

"Can we have kids like _them_?" she wondered quietly, almost to herself.

"Ya mean normal? Not like us?" Kei gently prodded.

She nodded, eyes cast down into her plate. "Yeah. Normal. Not all screwed up."

"Well, Touichi-san did," Kei reminded encouragingly, but then he almost visibly frowned, backpedaling a bit. "'Kay, maybe he didn't have a totally 'normal' kid—"

"—Hey!" Kaito interjected.

"But…we could prob'ly have a kid that didn't have t' kill and train all th' time," Kei reasoned. "We could prob'ly have a kid that…I don't know…did normal kid stuff like…"

"Play?" Chrisy suggested. "And watch cartoons? And cry? And go to school? And do sports? And not eat all of their vegetables? And…decide what they want to do with their life?"

"Yeah," Kei mumbled, placing his hand on top of Chrisy's. "Yeah. We could have a kid like that."

Chrisy squeezed Kei's hand, but she still looked troubled. "I don't think I know how to raise a kid like that."

"You handle Kaito just fine," Saguru chimed in, causing Chrisy to jump slightly.

She had gotten caught up in her thoughts and forgotten everything around her.

"Hey," Kaito whined. "It's true, though, Kiku-chan." He gave his mentor's arm a playful nudge as he smiled brightly. "You're going to be a cool mom, and if you're ever not sure of something, you can call and ask Guru for advice."

"W-Why me?!" Saguru stared across the table at his mate, taken aback by Kaito's offer. "Since when did I become the baby expert? I thought that was _your_ department."

Kaito shrugged, a beaming grin on his lips. "I have a feeling that once we get married you're gonna panic and start reading a lot of books about parenting."

Shinichi laughed, almost spitting out the tea he had just taken a sip of. He sputtered and coughed, still snickering all the while.

Saguru's eyebrows knitted together in a pensive frown. "…That's probably true."

Everyone, even Hakuba himself, had a good chuckle at that.

The warm moment was cut short, however, by the sharp click of high heels on the hardwood floor out in the hall.

Everyone turned to look as their unexpected…uninvited guest slowly approached. Chrisy and Kei reached for their weapons.

A blonde woman in skin-tight leather rounded the corner and smirked. "Well, aren't you all adorable? Sorry. Am I interrupting?"

Three barstools clattered to the ground as their occupants sprang into action.

Kei and Chrisy had Vermouth at gunpoint in an instant while Conan hopped down from his seat and readied his tranquilizer dart, training it on his enemy's throat.

"Easy," Vermouth chuckled, putting her hands up. "Relax, children. I come in peace."

"Forgive us if we don't believe you, Auntie Sharon," Chrisy spit. "Try anything funny, and I take your hand off at the wrist."

"Crystal, you used to be such a darling young girl," Vermouth goaded. "What happened?"

"Oh, you mean that act I used to put on?" Chrisy snorted. "Someone killed the only audience member I cared about. Why are you here?" she hissed.

Vermouth turned her gaze on Kaito and smiled.

Instinctively, Saguru grabbed a knife off of the table and slowly got up, pulling Kaito to his feet and putting himself between his love and this unknown threat. Saguru didn't know who this woman was, but, judging by everyone else's reactions, she was deadly, and he didn't like the way she was looking at his boyfriend.

Vermouth just laughed at Hakuba's protectiveness. "You all are very good actors. I saw you on the news this morning. They re-aired the interviews a few times. You three did very, very well. The thing about Kid's DNA being a close match to Kaito-kun's…implying it may belong to a relative. Claiming that you didn't know anything about Kid's true motives and how you were going to stop investigating. And then there was Kaito-kun's whole part. It was beautifully done. Everyone's eating up your lies like pigs from a troth."

"What are you doing here?" Chrisy growled, demanding an answer this time.

Still Vermouth smiled, her hands up in surrender. "Little Miss, I am a rat on a sinking ship. Someone screwed up big time when they started leaving bodies lying around, exposing our organization's existence to the light of day. They are being suitably punished, but it's really too late. The public knows something's out there, just below the surface, and they're going to want answers. A considerable number of our operatives were captured at last night's heist, and it won't be long before they start singing. We can't eliminate all of the leaks fast enough to put out the fire…and, from my previous experience with Cool Guy over here…I know that the bodies our idiots left behind are enough of a clue to do some serious damage. I've noticed your people sniffing around our bases of operations, Crystal. It's only a matter of time before my ship goes down, so…I'm here to sing you a few bars like the canary I am before it comes to all that. Better to consent to living in your cage than to continue to fly free and be shot down with the rest of my flock."

"You want to work with us," Conan snickered. "Be our informant in hope of lessening the punishment for your own crimes. It never ceases to amaze me what an opportunist you are, Vermouth."

Vermouth shrugged, still smirking as if she were the one in control of the situation. "No one's going to look out for you except for you yourself. The tides are turning, and I know which way the wind blows. Learning to adapt to the wind's whims is what's kept me alive for so long."

"I can't guarantee anything as far as your punishment goes," Chrisy warned, "but we'll take whatever information you have…with a grain of salt, of course. Sherlock, knock her out. We'll tie her up and take her to headquarters."

Shinichi hesitated as Vermouth smiled softly.

"Do it, Cool Guy," she urged, and he pulled the trigger.

Kei caught her as she crumpled to the floor.

"And who was that?" Saguru turned to Shinichi as Kei dealt with the body and Chrisy pulled out her phone to contact her handlers.

"She's one of _them_," Conan explained.

Saguru nodded. "Then…if what she says can be trusted…" Saguru visibly relaxed. "Thank goodness. It seems the plan has worked, and I can finally get some sleep at night!"

"But who was she?" Kaito repeated the question, one point still troubling him. "She talked like she knew me."

Conan shook his head. "Her codename is Vermouth. She goes by Chris Vineyard now, but her real name is Sharon Vineyard. She's an American actress. My mom knew her."

Kaito hummed pensively for a minute before shaking his head. "I don't know. Doesn't sound familiar…. Would it be inappropriate to finish eating my dinner now?" Kaito looked at his boyfriends in curiosity. "I mean…we kind of just saved the world…sort of. Okay. Maybe 'the world' is a stretch, but we just outsmarted and tricked the Organization, and now we have a really solid lead to dismantling all of it. I'm…not quite sure how I should be feeling. I mean, should I be jumping up and down for joy? Should we throw a party? I should be feeling _something_ right now, shouldn't I? It's…it's all numb. I kind of just want to finish my meal, take a bubble bath, and then watch some game show or variety program with cute baby animals or something before I go to bed."

"I know you how you feel," Shinichi chimed in. "I've been fighting these guys for a long time, and now…it all feels really surreal. I just feel tired."

Saguru nodded. "Let's leave the figurative heavy lifting to the veteran secret agents, then," he suggested. "It's been a long, hellish week. Maybe we should just not think about it right now…save the processing for later, when we're fresh and less ragged."

"Yeah," Kaito agreed, sinking back down onto his barstool and picking up his fork. "Save the processing for _waaay_ later. Tomorrow's Sunday, and we have to go back to school on Monday and do finals. Uhg. And then there's graduation the week after next."

"And then college," Saguru gulped, suppressing a shudder.

"Don't sound so nervous, Ru," Conan chuckled, returning to his seat as well. "I'd kill to go to college with you two."

"I could tape lectures for you, Shinichi, so long as the teachers allow it," Hakuba volunteered.

"I would love you forever," Shinichi vowed, eyes glistening and wide like light bulbs.

"Sorry. What?" Kaito raised an eyebrow in suspicion, really just giving his detectives a hard time. "Did I just hear infidelity?"

"I would love you forever in the most platonic way possible," Shinichi revised, and the three laughed.

"Seriously, Beika University is a good school, and I'd be thrilled if you'd tape lectures for me, Ru. I'm so ready for something more difficult than second grade level kanji and addition and subtraction."

"You poor darling. I bet you are!" Saguru replied, half mockingly and half completely serious. "Honestly, I can't imagine the hell you go through daily in elementary school, Shinichi."

"It feels like my mind is a little ant that some devil child is frying with a magnifying glass," Conan sighed, forking a piece of asparagus. He paused, looking up at Saguru. "Ru, sit down and eat, and stop worrying about the future so much."

"I wasn't," Saguru fibbed, but he sat down and resumed his meal anyway as some additional SIU agents arrived to take Vermouth away. "I was just…thinking."

Conan rolled his eyes. "Don't lie. You had that look on your face. The one when you agonize over every little detail and start making lists of everything that could go wrong in reverse alphabetical order."

Saguru blinked. "You're not a real detective, are you? You're just psychic, that's all," he snorted.

"You know Holmes's methods as well as I do. The science of deduction is our own brand of magic. I can tell what's going on inside that head of yours from your micro-expressions—the curve of your lip, the wrinkle of your brow, the look in your eye." Shinichi shrugged as if it were nothing.

Kaito smiled. Their own brand of magic, hn? Yeah. That sounded just right.

"You're worried about our relationship and how it's going to change in college?" Shinichi deduced.

Saguru nodded, taking a bite of his own baked potato.

"Worry about that after you're done with exams," Shinichi suggested. "Tomorrow's Sunday. Worry about Sunday first. Then worry about exams. We've all missed a week of school. Hopefully you two won't fail your exams and be held back a year. If you pass, then worry about college, but do it out loud with the rest of us present."

"We'll be fine," Kaito assured, waving goodbye to Kei and Chrisy. "I mean, the last week of school is usually just review. There's nothing major left to be learned. We should probably look over all of our notes tomorrow, but the exams shouldn't be a problem."

Saguru sighed. "I wish I had your confidence. I suppose Shinichi's right, though. I should focus my energies on worrying about flunking out of high school first. After that, then and only then will I concern myself with anything and everything that could possibly go wrong with college."

"That's the spirit!" Kaito encouraged with a bright grin. "I love your blind optimism, Sa-chan."

Shinichi sighed, fondly shaking his head. "I guess one of us has to worry. I mean, one of us lacks even an ounce of self-preservation and rushes into danger without a second thought while the other one is just too batty crazy to think to care."

"I think your batty craziness is sexy, Shin-chan," Kaito replied innocently.

Shinichi just shook his head once more. "You know I meant you."

Kaito just smiled that utterly insane Kid grin. "You know you love me."

Shinichi and Saguru both chuckled, knowing it was true.

Well, so long as Kaito was smiling again. That smile made them feel like they really could keep going and overcome whatever curveball life threw at them.

…

Mikau: You know, I really like this chapter. I think it turned out well. What did you think? I'm so tempted to slap a big "CTM Part One, The End To Be Continued in Part Two" at the end of this chapter. It has a hint of finality to it, and I feel like the majorly major points are tied up pretty well, but I still plan on telling the families and getting them back to "normal" life before I "The End" it. Part One of CTM will end with the boys starting college, and then part two (which is still in the works and may not be publish until several months or so after the end of part one) will cover college, work, marriage, and kids and the like. That's the plan anyway. You all know me and my plans, though. I plan on making a one-shot, and then something like HP happens and I end up with ten chapters. Anyway…thanks for hanging in there with me everyone. I'll try to have a new chapter up for you soon. Thanks again! Take care until next time!


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